‘The Fall Guy’ leads, but ‘Phantom Menace’ claws its way to second place
“The Fall Guy,” the Ryan Gosling-led action-comedy ode to stuntmen, debuted below expectations with $28.5 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday, providing a tepid start to a critical season of summer movies for Hollywood.
The Universal Pictures release debuted on a weekend that Marvel has regularly dominated, with releases grossing more than $100 million. (In 2023, it was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” with a $118 million debut.) But last year’s strikes disrupted this year’s film calendar; “Deadpool & Wolverine,” originally slated to premiere this weekend, opens in July.
So in place of a superhero release, the summer release went to a movie about stuntmen who anonymously sacrifice their bodies for the kind of action sequences that blockbusters are built on. Over the weekend, predictions were that the film would debut between $30 million and $40 million.
“The Fall Guy,” directed by former stuntman and “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch, headed into the weekend with the momentum of rave reviews and the buzz of a SXSW premiere. But it will take sustained interest to earn its $130 million production budget. It added US$25.4 million in foreign markets.
Working in its favor in the long run: strong audience scores (an “A-” CinemaScore) and good reviews (83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Jim Orr, head of distribution at Universal, believes things are going well for “The Fall Guy” in the coming weeks.
“We had a very solid opening,” Orr said. “We’re looking forward to a very long, robust and very successful sequel at the domestic box office for literally weeks, if not months.”
But “The Fall Guy’s” modest beginnings suggest larger concerns for the film industry. Superhero movies haven’t been the box office behemoths they once were, leading studios to look for newer alternatives. “The Fall Guy” seemed to tick all the boxes, with flamboyant action sequences, one of the hottest stars in the business, a director with a track record of pleasing audiences and very good reviews.
But instead, the opening of “The Fall Guy,” loosely based on the 1980s TV series, only emphasized that the film industry will likely struggle to rekindle the fervor of last year’s “Barbenheimer” summer. “The Fall Guy” stars one of each: Gosling, in his first post-Ken role, and Emily Blunt, from “Oppenheimer.” Both were nominated for an Oscar.
“It’s going to be a very interesting and non-traditional summer this year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Partly due to the effects of last year’s work stoppages, there are fewer big movies hitting theaters. Expectations are that the summer box office total will be closer to $3 billion than the $4 billion generated historically.
“The summer season has just begun, so let’s give ‘The Fall Guy’ a chance to build that momentum over time. It’s a different kind of early summer movie,” Dergarabedian said. “There are always high expectations for any movie that kicks off the summer season, but this is not your typical summer movie season.”
Surprisingly, second place at the box office went to Walt Disney Co.’s re-release of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” The first episode of George Lucas’ little-loved prequels grossed $8.1 million over the weekend, 25 years later “Phantom Menace” grossed $1 billion.
Last week’s best-selling film, Zendaya’s tennis drama “Challengers,” fell to third place with $7.6 million in its second week. That was a solid position for the Luca Guadagnino-directed Amazon MGM release, dropping 49% from its opening weekend.
Sony Screen Gems’ supernatural horror film “Tarot” also debuted nationwide. It opened to $6.5 million, a decent enough start for a low-budget release, but another example of horror that didn’t perform as well this year as it has in recent years.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final national numbers 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: The New Empire”, $4.5 million
6. “Civil War,” $3.6 million
7. “Unsung Hero,” $3 million
8. “Kung Fu Panda 4,” $2.4 million
9. “Abigail,” $2.3 million
10. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” $1.8 million
