The Celestine Prophecy is a 2006 American film directed by Armand Mastroianni and starring Matthew Settle, Thomas Kretschmann, and Sarah Wayne Callies. The film is based on James Redfield's best-selling novel of the same name. Because the book sold over 23 million copies since its publication and has thus become one of the best-selling books of all time, Redfield had expected the film to be a success. However, the film was widely panned by critics and was a box office failure, with a total worldwide gross of $1.5 million.

Cast

Plot

Having lost his job as a middle school teacher, John Woodson (Matthew Settle) finds himself at a turning point in his life. He takes a vacation to Peru, where he spends his time exploring and searching for the ninth scroll, lost from a set of eight ancient texts, rumored to reveal the future of humanity.

Reception

Box office

The Celestine Prophecy grossed $1.2 million in North America and $286,444 in other countries for a worldwide total of $1.5 million.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 4% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 2.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Adapted from the bestselling self-help tome, The Celestine Prophesy [sic] is indifferently directed and acted, and its plotting is virtually tension-free." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 23 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Film critic Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "clumsy -- not merely unconventional but awkward in its narrative development and dialogue", and added: "characters are sketched in shallow terms". In his top ten list of the worst films of 2006, LaSalle called it a "misbegotten film, an awkward, undramatic effort", and ranked it third on the list. Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times said "the movie is flatly acted and extremely ill-paced, lacking any sense of urgency, momentum or fun".