Dave Bautista has been a popular staple of cinema thanks to his roles in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, Dune and Knock at the Cabin, but his latest action comedy is now hoping a quick digital release will help redeem it. The Killer’s Game was released in cinemas on September 13, but became one of his worst performing movies, taking just $5.9 million at the box office. Now the film is getting a very quick turnaround and heading to digital platforms on October 4.
The Killer’s Game seems, on paper, to be exactly the kind of movie that Bautista’s fans have been lapping up – a full-on action movie with a dash of comedy. The story follows hitman Joe Flood, who discovers that he is dying from a terminal illness. Rather than meet his maker due to this, Flood puts out a hit on himself, only to discover that he was misdiagnosed and he is not dying after all. However, he now has a very different life-threatening problem to contend with, as some of the best hitmen in the business are out to claim their pay day.
When the movie was released in cinemas, critics had mixed feelings about the former wrestler’s latest offering. While many agreed that Bautista’s presence on-screen is as good as ever, even that could not save the generic plot, which was a “Frankenstein of many other movies” according to one review. However, audiences who did turn out to see the film – as few as they were – clearly got what they wanted, and gave the movie an 81% Popcornmeter score.
The Killer’s Game was a complete disaster in cinemas, making back just a fifth of its $30 million budget. However, the high audience score is a strong sign that the movie could still find an audience and become a success at the second time of asking.
Lionsgate announced that The Killer’s Game arrives on VOD on October 4, available to either buy for $24.99 or rent for $19.99 on the usual platforms including Apple TV+ and Prime Video. However, this still may not be the place that The Killer’s Game really begins to really find its true audience, but it could soar when it finds a streaming home.
Bautista’s previous movie, My Spy: The Eternal City, did not deliver great reviews, but it very quickly jumped to the top of streaming charts. While The Killer’s Game may not have been enticing enough to get audiences into cinema seats, getting them to press a button on their remote control is something that it can probably do quite easily. Considering the speed with which the film has hit digital, we can probably expect to see the movie hit streaming sometime in the next couple of months.