Rock the Kasbah (film)

Rock the Kasbah

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	2015 (2015)
Founder	Barry Levinson (director), Mitch Glazer (screenplay)
Products	Comedy film
Parent	Open Road Films

Rock the Kasbah is a 2015 American comedy film directed by Barry Levinson with a screenplay by Mitch Glazer. The cast features Bill Murray portraying a talent agent who embarks on a USO tour in Afghanistan, joined by Kate Hudson, Bruce Willis, and Leem Lubany. The movie was distributed by Open Road Films on October 23, 2015.

Plot

Richie Lanz, a once-successful rock manager, takes his final client on a USO tour in Afghanistan. When he becomes stranded in Kabul without access to money or his passport, he encounters Salima, a gifted young Afghan vocalist. Richie convinces Daoud, the producer of Afghan Star—the Afghan equivalent of American Idol—to allow her to participate in the competition.

The narrative draws loose inspiration from the 2009 documentary Afghan Star and pays tribute to one of its participants, Setara Hussainzada.

Production

The project was first revealed in September 2013. By February 2014, Open Road Films had secured the rights for US distribution. Originally, actor Shia LaBeouf was attached but exited in March 2014, with Scott Caan stepping into the role. Filming commenced on June 2, 2014, and concluded by July 30, 2014, with shooting locations situated in Morocco.

Release

Open Road Films initially set the release date for April 24, 2015, announced on August 20, 2014. Later, on May 13, 2015, the premiere was rescheduled to October 23, 2015, moving earlier from the original November 13 date.

Box office

Debuting on October 23, 2015, Rock the Kasbah competed alongside The Last Witch Hunter, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Jem and the Holograms, as well as an expanded release of Steve Jobs. Initial forecasts estimated a $6 million opening across 2,012 theaters; however, early Thursday previews generating $75,000 lowered expectations to $4 million. The first-day earnings of $529,000 further reduced projections to $1.6 million. The weekend total reached $1.5 million, placing it at number 13 at the box office. According to Box Office Mojo, this marked the fifth-lowest opening ever for a film released in over 2,000 theaters, with an average of $731 per location (notably higher than Jem and the Holograms, which averaged $570).

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie holds a 7% approval rating derived from 123 reviews and an average score of 3.38/10. The critical consensus highlights the film’s failure to utilize Bill Murray’s strength in portraying endearing outsiders effectively. Meanwhile, Metacritic assigns it a score of 29 out of 100 based on evaluations from 35 critics, signifying "generally unfavorable reviews." Audience feedback from CinemaScore recorded a "B−" grade on their A+ to F scale.