Hops and Box Office Flops: ‘THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE’

Knuckle Bump

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is an ode to Disney’s 1940 film Fantasia.

Born from an idea Nicolas Cage had, it builds an entire mythos from that brief section of the aforementioned film.

Balthazar Blake, Cage, is a sorcerer searching for the rightful heir to Merlin—his former master.

He was given a ring by the legendary wizard as he lie dying. That ring will signal the chosen one, who happens to be a bumbling nerd, Dave (played by Jay Baruchel).

Anyway, it’s all fairly silly and dumb, but also decently fun. That is thanks in part to Alfred Molina’s Horvath—the sorcerer who betrayed Merlin and Balthazar, aligning himself with the evil Morgana. The repartee between he and Cage is worth the hour and 40 minutes alone.

But alas, for critics, the dumb outweighed the fun. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which reunited Cage with National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub, sits at just 40% on Rotten Tomatoes with 173 reviews.

Viewers failed to see its magic, too. They scored it a 53%. Thus, its $215.3 million box office isn’t all that shocking. On a budget of $150 million, its failure to cast a sequel isn’t surprising either.

Now, sit back, let your tastebuds conjure some magic from a Japanese Green Tea IPA from Stone Brewing, and don’t touch anything! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Chumpzilla, and Capt. Cash are firing plasma bolts and wearing our finest old man shoes!

This Week’s Segments:

Introduction/Plot Breakdown – A job so great, it’s magic! (00:00)
Lingering Questions – After a word from our brothers in beer at Hop Nation USA, we debate whether this film’s fantastical battles reign supreme over similar competition. (52:24)
The “Primer Merlinian” Trivia Challenge – The Double Turn Podcast gets locked in the Grimhold, and then Capt. Cash challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (59:51)
Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We begin “Hops and Blood Sucking Flops” with Gallow Walkers! (1:06:42)

And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—the movie’s inspiration and more—from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Vurbl, and Amazon Music!