Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s ‘The Fall Guy’ might’ve had a muted box office opening, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world — or movies.
The Big Picture
- Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s
The Fall Guy
had a large budget, contributing to box office concerns. - Rising costs of movie outings, behavior issues, and streaming preference are impacting theater attendance.
- Word of mouth, unique premises, and competition can impact a film’s success beyond its opening weekend.
The Fall Guy is the summer’s first major release, bringing together an A-List cast that includes Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, ping-pongs from romance to action to mystery with ease, and is a tribute to the hard work that stunt performers undertake. Yet it fell short of its projected $30 million box-office opening, which led to the usual portents of doom and gloom. There was talk about how the summer box office isn’t off to a good start, and one frustrated op-ed asked “What the hell do people want out of movies?” Most of the discussion is missing out on factors that not only affected The Fall Guy but have changed the way people approach going to the movies.
For starters, The Fall Guy had a fairly big budget of roughly $130 million; that isn’t an astronomical cost, but it’s definitely more than you’d expect from a film of this caliber. “They should have spent like Tom Rothman: Make it for $80M. Why is Universal spending the extra money? Instead of spending $220M-$230M between production and marketing costs, they could have pulled this off for $160M-$180M,” one source told Deadline regarding the box office. Putting the costs aside, there are other reasons that the Internet has once again blown things out of proportion, and there’s also proof that The Fall Guy isn’t in any danger of “failing” at the box office.
The Fall Guy
Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He’s drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.
- Release Date
- May 3, 2024
- Director
- David Leitch
- Cast
- Emily Blunt , Hannah Waddingham , Ryan Gosling , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Stephanie Hsu , Teresa Palmer
- Runtime
- 114 minutes
- Main Genre
- Action
- Writers
- Drew Pearce , Glen A. Larson
Audiences Have (Valid) Reasons for Not Seeing Everything in Theaters
A large part of the reason why The Fall Guy didn’t quite meet expectations is the fact that people are even more selective about the movies they see in the theater. The biggest box office wins of last year were Barbie (which also features Gosling in a lead role) and Oppenheimer, both of which were movies that felt like movies you had to see on the big screen due to their star-packed casts and scale. This year, Dune: Part Two and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire both delivered bombastic thrills of a different sort, including battles on the sands of Arrakkis and the plains of Hollow Earth. In contrast, The Fall Guy, although it boasts some very impressive stunt work and fun action sequences, isn’t exactly screaming “This has to be seen in theaters!”
Ryan Gosling Says Most of His Taylor Swift Ugly Crying Scene Didn’t Make It in ‘The Fall Guy’
There are still plenty of tears to be shed to “All Too Well” when you see ‘The Fall Guy’ in theaters.
Cost is also a major issue. A single person going to the movies is far different from two people, or even a family of four or more. There are upcharges for premium large formats like IMAX, Dolby, and 4DX, not to mention the different times affecting the cost of a ticket. Concessions are also a factor, as popcorn, candy, and soda seem to be continuously increasing in price. There’s also other moviegoers’ behavior; despite being urged to turn off their phones and stay quiet, most people now treat the theater like their own personal fiefdom. Fights even broke out during movie screenings last year, which might be another major factor in folks staying home. Your living room might lack the surround sound and big screen, but at least no one’s trying to beat you up. But the kicker is a recent study which reveals that two-thirds of adults are more than willing to wait for films to hit streaming/VOD before watching them. Due to the rise of streaming services and the allure of watching a movie from the comfort of one’s home (while also saving money) this isn’t surprising.
‘The Fall Guy’ Could Have a Theatrical Run Like ‘Anyone But You’ & ‘Elemental’
If there’s proof that The Fall Guy could recover from its muted box office opening, it lies in the theatrical run of two films from last year: Anyone But You and Elemental. Both movies had a subdued opening weekend but wound up making an overall profit during their theatrical runs. Part of that is due to word of mouth, which immensely helps a film. More people are willing to go to the theater if their friends and family, or people they trust, tell them it’s worth it.
The premise of both films was also a major draw: Anyone But You is more or less built on the romantic tension between Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, while Elemental was a major draw for families, one of the biggest groups that theaters are trying to draw back. In fact, animation’s been a major draw at the box office, with the likes of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem doing quite well.
The Fall Guy also has some fierce competition at the box office, particularly Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes as well as Furiosa: A Mad Max Story. Anyone But You had to contend with Wonka and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom during Christmastime, while Elemental legged out to $400 million worldwide by August. This is proof that the opening weekend shouldn’t be the end-all/be-all of whether a movie is successful or not; the end goal is to have a long and healthy theatrical run.
Movie Theater Attendance Could Make a Comeback in 2025
The box office is dealing with two factors that people have yet to acknowledge: the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the dual WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes. Both had a significant effect on the overall box office, to the point where a movie theater analyst has said that the box office won’t return to normal until next year. A large part of that is due to studios saving their biggest movies for then. While this summer’s Deadpool & Wolverine is poised to bring the box office and the MCU out of its funk, 2025’s slate is already impressive.
Marvel and DC are taking big swings with the Pedro Pascal-led The Fantastic Four and James Gunn‘s Superman, respectively. James Cameron and Ridley Scott have Avatar and Gladiator sequels on deck, and a mysterious vampire movie that reunites Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler is also on the calendar. But even with all the hurdles placed in its way, The Fall Guy should be able to hop over them with ease, and the future of movies looks optimistic.
The Fall Guy is now playing in theaters nationwide.
This article was originally published on collider.com