Deadline: 'White House Down' a 'Flop'

Perhaps movie goers weren’t in the mood to see the Scandal-in-Chief at cineplexes this weekend.

White House Down, the new film chockablock with liberal talking points and a stand-in for President Barack Obama, underwhelmed during its first weekend in theaters.

The powerful entertainment site Deadline.com dubbed the movie’s $26 million haul a flop.

But Sony Pictures’ White House Down really disappointed in #4, opening a third less than Hollywood expected and ensuring its high cost will make it impossible to earn out….

Sony started promoting the pic during Jimmy Kimmel’s After Oscar show. Foxx’s song “Channing All Over Your Tatum” and star-studded video went viral for 3 million views on YouTube. NBA playoffs and finals, scripted and unscripted TV send-offs, and Yahoo/Facebook/MTV partnerships featured prominently in the marketing. But the movie tanked anyway.

White House Down features Foxx playing the president, a leader whose plan to pull all U.S. troops out of the Middle East is interrupted by right-wing terrorists who attack the White House. Numerous critics said the filmmakers intended Foxx’s character to echo Obama, and director Roland Emmerich routinely portrays right-of-center characters as either fools, cowards or villains.