This is gonna sound very random at this point, I know, but I was just going through this year's domestic box-office chart and noticed that Irrational Man topped out with $4 million. It's not like I'd expect a Woody Allen flick with average reviews to do gangbuster business, but even by his standards in recent years, that does seem low. Magic in the Moonlight did $10.5 million a year earlier, To Rome with Love did $16.7 million... Is it because they came right after Blue Jasmine and Midnight in Paris respectively?

Adjusted for inflation, Irrational Man is his third-worst performer in the past 25 years (after Cassandra's Dream and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger).

It looked like the most generically Woody Allen-like movie he could possibly make... I mean a philosophy professor having existential doubts in a relationship with a younger student, cmon

Didn't have a good roll out and the film in general is his weakest in years. not even a good performance to build buzz off of.

MitM sucked and this (apparently) sucked, and when Allen sucks he sucks. So people stayed away.

Mixed-to-negative reviews. An ad campaign which buried the lead (Phoenix's character plots to murder a judge) and emphasized an element which invites disdain in an Allen film (male protagonist romancing a besotted younger woman). Other viable options for upscale moviegoers around the same time: Mr. Holmes, Amy, The End of the Tour, Love & Mercy, Phoenix, etc.

Just did not connect.

To Rome with Love was hugely buoyed by Midnight in Paris, then cut short by its own mediocrity. It was the immediate follow-up to "Paris" and another European-set romantic comedy. Allen found a niche there for a second as a purveyor of art-house/multiplex tourism. Irrational Man is much closer in scale and tone to You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.

And Magic in the Moonlight?

...did not do very well, petering out at 10 million. Why more than Irrational Man? Who can say? Lingering goodwill from Blue Jasmine? The beautiful countryside setting and Downton Abbey-esque vibe being more outwardly appealing than existential angst at a New England university?

I suppose. I also think that Colin Firth is certainly a draw to some audiences (and played a role in Kingsman's success too). The reason I brought it up was that $10 million, in my opinion, is still a success story for an Allen flick with very mixed-to-negative reviews nowadays.