“Fall Guys,” an action comedy about stunt performers starring Ryan Gosling, is off to a lukewarm start to Hollywood’s crucial summer movie season, with a lower-than-expected box office gross of $28.5 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It became.
The Universal Pictures release opened on a weekend that Marvel has regularly dominated with $100 million-plus releases. (In 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opened with $118 million.) But last year’s strike threw this year’s movie calendar into disarray. “Deadpool & Wolverine” was originally scheduled to be released this weekend, but now it will be released in July.
So instead of a superhero kickoff, the summer presentation featured a movie about stunt performers who anonymously sacrifice their bodies for the action scenes that form the basis of blockbusters. Over the weekend, the film was expected to have an opening gross of $30 million to $40 million.
“Fall Guy,” directed by former stuntman and “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch, opened the weekend with glowing reviews and buzz at its SXSW premiere. But it will take sustained interest to get value for its $130 million production budget. Overseas markets increased by $25.4 million.
High audience scores (CinemaScore ‘A-‘) and good reviews (83% freshness on Rotten Tomatoes) will work in its favor over the long term. Universal distribution chief Jim Orr believes things will progress smoothly for The Fall Guy in the coming weeks.
“We had a very solid start,” Orr said. “We look forward to a very long, very strong and very successful domestic box office run over literally weeks, if not months, to come.”
But The Fall Guy’s modest start suggests larger concerns for the film industry. Superhero movies are no longer the box-office juggernauts they once were, and studios are looking for fresher alternatives. “The Fall Guy” seemed to tick all the boxes: gorgeous action scenes, one of the hottest stars in the industry, a director with a proven track record of crowd-pleasing, and extremely positive reviews. .
But instead, the opening of “Fall Guys,” loosely based on the 1980s TV series, signaled that the film industry would likely struggle to reignite last year’s “Babenheimer” summer craze. I just emphasized it. Fall Guys stars Gosling, in his first role since Ken, and Emily Blunt, who starred in Oppenheimer. Both were nominated for Oscars.
“This is going to be a very interesting, non-traditional summer,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore.
Due in part to last year’s work stoppage, fewer major movies are being screened in theaters. Summer box office grosses are expected to be closer to $3 billion than the previous $4 billion.
“The summer season has just begun, so let’s give ‘The Fall Guy’ a chance to take its time and build its momentum. This is a different type of summer kickoff movie,” Dergarabedian said. “There is always great anticipation for the films that kick off the summer movie season, but this year is not your typical summer movie season.”
Surprisingly, the second-highest grossing film went to Walt Disney Co.’s re-release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The first episode of director George Lucas’ little-loved prequel raked in $8.1 million over the weekend, 25 years after “The Phantom Menace” hit the $1 billion box office mark.
Zendaya’s tennis drama “Challengers,” which topped last week, slipped to third place in its second week with $7.6 million. The Amazon MGM release, directed by Luca Guadagnino, performed well, dropping 49% from its opening weekend.
Sony Screen Gems’ supernatural horror film “Tarot” was also released nationwide. The debut film grossed $6.5 million, which was a decent start for a low-budget production, but this year, like the past few years, has been one of the worst box office successes for horror.
Estimated ticket sales from Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Final national figures will be released on Monday.
1. “The Fall Guy” $28.5 million
2. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, $8.1 million
3. “Challengers,” $7.6 million
4. “Tarot” $6.5 million
5. “Godzilla x Kong: New Empire” $4.5 million
6. “Civil War,” $3.6 million
7. “The Unsung Hero,” $3 million
8. “Kung Fu Panda 4,” $2.4 million
9. “Abigail,” $2.3 million
10. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, $1.8 million
