Despite the constant praise and acclaim for 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen guitarist Brian May says the band are yet to see any money from the project.
Back in October, the world was introduced to the record-breaking biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Centred around Freddie Mercury, and his life and legacy with the band Queen, the film has gone on to become the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time, raking in over $900 million at the box office.
The praise for the film has even extended to award season, with Rami Malek earning a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his portrayal of Mercury.
However, it seems that the film’s success might be marred by a bit of “Hollywood accounting”, with Queen guitarist Brian May explaining that the group’s surviving members are yet to see a single cent of the earnings.
Speaking to Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show (via Blabbermouth), Brian May revealed that the band had humble expectations for the film in its early days.
“It was a long labor of love — about 12 years in development, I guess,” May explained. “We thought it would do well in the end and we felt good about it, but we didn’t realise it would do that well.”
“It’s incredible around the world — it’s, like, a billion-dollar movie. I had to laugh the other day, because there’s a thing in the paper saying that we were getting rich off this movie. If they only knew.”
Check out Brian May on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show:
“We had an accountant in the other day, and we still haven’t earned a penny from it,” Brian May added. “How successful does a movie have to be before you make money?”
“There’s so many people that people don’t realise will take pieces off the top, but the feeling of it is so great — the fact that it’s out there, and I think Freddie [Mercury] comes out it with his dignity, but without having been whitewashed in any way.”
“It’s very real… I think people are astounded how close to Freddie Rami got,” May concluded. “It’s phenomenal the way he got inside Freddie’s body somehow — inside his skin.”
In related news, Brian May recently expressed his desire to see a new Live Aid-style concert to help raise awareness for climate change around the world.
“It probably would take the younger generation to take that bull by the horns,” May explained. “We’d help in any way we can but I think that’s what it would require.”
However, May explained that with this issue being “so enormous”, the idea of a star-studded concert might not be anywhere near enough to make a difference.
“People have seen so many concerts since Live Aid purporting to be solving the problems of the world so it’s not quite as easy as it seems,” he added.
In related news, Queen are set to bring their Rhapsody tour to Australia in 2020, performing shows all around the country with acclaimed singer Adam Lambert tackling Freddie Mercury’s iconic vocals.
Check out Queen performing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’:
Queen Rhapsody Australian Tour 2020
Thursday, February 13th
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD
Saturday, February 15th
ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Wednesday, February 19th
AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC
Sunday, February 23rd
Optus Stadium, Perth, WA
Wednesday, February 26th
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, SA
Saturday, February 29th
Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, QLD
Tickets on sale via Ticketek
