'Cats' could lose £76m at the box office

Following some pretty frank reviews, the movie adaptation of Cats is heading for a huge loss at the worldwide box office.

The movie, helmed by British director Tom Hooper, has been panned by critics, was unleashed just before Christmas.

But thus far, it's only made $36 million (£27.4 million), falling drastically short of expectations.

According to Variety, execs at Universal Pictures are bracing for a potential loss over $100 million, following nearly $100 million in production costs and around the same in promotion and marketing.

Read more: Tom Hooper changed Cats after CGI backlash

It was hoped that the movie musical of Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End classic would follow the example of Hugh Jackman's The Greatest Showman, which got off to a slow start but eventually found its audience.

But despite an all-star cast, it seems that perhaps the almost universally poor reviews may have kept audiences away.

The Los Angeles Times called it 'grotesque', while Rolling Stone's Peter Travers said it 'easily scores as the bottom of the 2019 barrel - and arguably of the decade'.

Fears first emerged when the film's first trailer was dubbed 'nightmare fuel' when it was revealed over the summer.

Read more: Rebel Wilson loved reaction to Cats trailer

Then production issues seemed to be confirmed when director Tom Hooper, who made hits like Les Miserables, dropped the bombshell that he'd only finished the movie the day before its US premiere, following a 36 hour dash to the finish line.

A second, improved cut of the movie was then sent to cinemas by Universal days after release, which attempted to deal with errors like Dame Judi Dench's visible human hand rather than a paw, complete with a wedding ring.

Starring James Corden, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, and the Royal Ballet's Francesca Hayward, Cats is out now.