In the past three weeks, two of the greatest action heroes in film history got slaughtered by their one-time biggest ally: the domestic box office.
Both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, two Hollywood action movie icons, opened brand-new solo films after a several-year hiatus: The Last Stand (Schwarzenegger) and Bullet to the Head (Stallone). Neither film opened to much competition and both received average reviews, and both opened to less than $7 million at the U.S. box office. Even Jason Statham‘s last film Parker performed better than either film in its opening weekend in January, although it similarly died a quick death. For two men who once easily found their films topping the box office charts on opening weekend and eventually raking in millions, it’s going to be tough for either film to break even, let alone make a profit, even once the international box office is counted.
On the surface it’s hard to guess where everything went wrong for these movies. The promotion wasn’t lacking, with Schwarzenegger in particular going just about everywhere trying to promote The Last Stand, even participating in a Reddit chat where he had little issue answering off-the-wall questions. Stallone’s last two films — The Expendables and The Expendables 2, which both featured Schwarzenegger (among other action movie icons) — both opened at #1 at the domestic box office and went on to make $250+ million at the worldwide box office (Expendables 2 actually broke $300 million). Both men remain household names, but perhaps audiences’ patience for action heroes in their mid-sixties has finally run out.
However, at this point, I’m wondering what’s going through Bruce Willis’ head. Fellow Expendable Willis is the third part of the 80s/90s action movie triumvirate, and though he has had more consistent box office success than Schwarzenegger or Stallone he is less than two weeks away from the opening of A Good Day to Die Hard, the fifth film in his signature franchise. Though Willis is reprising his popular role as John McClane as opposed to starring as a new character (as Schwarzenegger and Stallone did in their recent films), like Stallone and Schwarzenegger there isn’t exactly a lot of difference between the various characters Willis plays in his action films and audiences could be just as exhausted with him. While 2007’s Live Free or Die Hard was the highest grossing film in the Die Hard franchise and Willis has since had solid hits with lower-budget action films like Red and Looper, I can’t imagine that he isn’t just a little concerned about this glut of 2013 bombing action movies starring his fellow Expendables.
I am sure the producers of The Tomb, a film starring both Stallone and Schwarzenegger that is opening in September, are also concerned. Obviously the two stars have had more success together than solo recently – as the above details of the box office of The Expendables 2 reveals – but the box office non-performances of The Last Stand and Bullet to the Head are definitely matters of concern.
Similarly, this is bad news for both actors moving forward. Schwarzenegger’s name is attached to enough big-budget films – including sequels to Terminator, Conan, and Twins – that his plate is pretty full until his seventieth birthday. However, I find it hard to believe that executives would be willing to gamble on a Schwarzenegger/Conan reunion when the last film in the franchise (starring Jason Momoa, who coincidentally was the villain in Bullet to the Head) was also a major bomb. Likewise, Schwarzenegger’s oft-repeated hope of a Twins sequel starring Eddie Murphy as his and Danny DeVito’s genetically-engineered brother can’t be a cause for excitement for executives considering how poorly Murphy’s “comedies” have done recently. Who’s going to spend a bunch of money on these movies when it’s a long shot if they’ll ever make their money back?
Stallone had a remarkable career resurgence in the mid 2000s with sequels to Rocky, Rambo, and The Expendables films, but perhaps that comeback has run out of gas. He still has The Expendables 3, a drama titled Reach Me, and a boxing comedy opposite Robert De Niro on his schedule, so he certainly isn’t just sticking to solo action films. That seems to be the smart move in the wake of Bullet to the Head’s lack of success at the box office.
As a huge fan of both Stallone and Schwarzenegger, I’d hate to see their careers peter out in their old age leading to their films going direct-to-video like many of their Expendables contemporaries (and Stallone was already well on his way there before Rocky Balboa gave him a huge boost). Neither man deserves it, but neither can afford another bomb at this stage of their careers. With hardly any new action heroes taking the place of the old guard, we fans of action movies can’t afford it either.
//
Recent Comments