“The Mummy” makes worldwide opening of US$172m – receives negative reviews

The first installment in Universal Pictures’ “Dark Universe” series, the action-adventure film “The Mummy”, featuring scenes shot at various locations in the Erongo region some years ago has received generally negative reviews. The film nonetheless managed a worldwide opening of US$172 million (around N$2,2 billion).
“The Mummy” celebrated its worldwide debut in cinemas on Friday (9 June) and can currently also be viewed in cinemas in Namibia. The film was shot on locations in Namibia, London and Surrey with the opening scenes featuring scenes in and around Swakopmund. These scenes doubled for similar scenes in Egypt and Iraq. According to international media reports, “The Mummy” had a production budget of US$125 million.
Stars for feature in the film include Hollywood heavyweight Tom Cruise who became a familiar figure in Swakopmund during the production of the movie and also Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis and Courtney B Vance. The production sites included the Rössing Mountain, in the dunes, the Moonlandscape, the Rössing Mountain Airstrip and the Messum Crater. All locations are familiar sites in the Erongo region.
Usually film companies opt to use Abu Dhabi and Morocco as a double for desert scenes of Egypt and Iraq. However, since scenes of the blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road was shot in Namibia, the country has become more appealing to future movie productions.
According to international media reports, the production’s stay in Swakopmund required 650 members of the cast and crew, 215 of whom were sourced locally while the rest were brought in from South Africa and the United Kingdon. Moonlighting Film Production Services in Swakopmund were hired as the local agent to help coordinate the shoot.
“The Mummy” did bring something unique to the table in the growing Namibian film industry. Ten young Namibian’s got the rare chance to be trained in various departments on the production and in doing so witness an international film in the making.
After the opening weekend, critics gave “The Mummy” generally unfavorable reviews though. On Rotten Tomatoes the film received an average rating of 4.3/10. Metacritic gave “The Mummy” a score of 34/100 based on 43 critics. On IMDB the film received a rating of 5.9/10.
Florence Haifene, Executive Secretary of the Namibia Film Commission, was not available for comment on the rating of the movie at the time of going to press.