NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 鈥淭he Fall Guy,鈥� the opened below expectations with $28.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, providing a lukewarm start to a summer movie season that鈥檚 very much to be determined for Hollywood.
The Universal Pictures release opened on a weekend that Marvel has regularly dominated with $100 million-plus launches. (In 2023, that was 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3鈥� ) But jumbled this year鈥檚 movie calendar; 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine,鈥� originally slated to open this weekend, is instead debuting in July.
So in place of a superhero kickoff, the summer launch went to a movie about the stunt performers who anonymously sacrifice their bodies for the kind of action sequences blockbusters are built on. Going into the weekend, forecasts had the film opening $30 million to $40 million.
鈥淭he Fall Guy,鈥� directed by former stuntman and 鈥淒eadpool 2鈥� helmer David Leitch, rode into the weekend with the momentum of glowing reviews and the . But it will need sustained interest to merit its $130 million production budget. It added $25.4 million in overseas markets.
Working in its favor for a long run: strong audience scores (an 鈥淎-鈥� CinemaScore) and (83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal, believes things line up well for 鈥淭he Fall Guy鈥� in the coming weeks.
鈥淲e had a very solid opening,鈥� said Orr. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to a very long, very robust, very successful run throughout the domestic box office for literally weeks if not months to come.鈥�
But the modest start for 鈥淭he Fall Guy鈥� hints at larger concerns for the film industry. Superhero films haven鈥檛 been quite the box-office behemoth they once were, leading studios to search for fresher alternative. 鈥淭he Fall Guy鈥� seemed to check all the boxes, with extravagant action sequences, one of the hottest stars in the business, a director with a track-record for crowd pleasers and very good reviews.
But instead, the opening for 鈥淭he Fall Guy,鈥� loosely based on the 1980s TV series, only emphasized that the movie business is likely to struggle to rekindle the fervor of last year鈥檚 鈥淭he Fall Guy鈥� stars one from each: Gosling, in his first post-Ken role, and Emily Blunt, of 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥� Both were Oscar nominated.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a very interesting, nontraditional summer this year,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.
In part due to the effects of last year's work stoppages, there are fewer big movies hitting theaters. Expectations are that the total summer box office will be closer to $3 billion than the $4 billion that鈥檚 historically been generated.
鈥淭he summer season is just getting started, so let鈥檚 give 鈥楾he Fall Guy鈥� a chance to build that momentum over time. It鈥檚 a different type of summer kickoff film,鈥� said Dergarabedian. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always huge expectations placed on any film that kicks off the summer movie season, but this isn鈥檛 your typical summer movie season.鈥�
In a surprise, No. 2 at the box office went to the Walt Disney Co. rerelease of 鈥淪tar Wars: The Phantom Menace.鈥� The first episode to George Lucas鈥� little-loved prequels collected $8.1 million over the weekend, 25 years after 鈥淧hantom Menace鈥� grossed $1 billion.
Last week鈥檚 top film, slid to third place with $7.6 million in its second week. That was a sold hold for the Amazon MGM release, directed by Luca Guadagnino, dipping 49% from its first weekend.
The Sony Screen Gems supernatural horror film 鈥淭arot鈥� also opened nationwide. It debuted with $6.5 million, a decent enough start for a low-budget release but another example of horror not quite performing this year as it has the last few years.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Fall Guy,鈥� $28.5 million.
2. 鈥淪tar Wars: The Phantom Menace,鈥� $8.1 million.
3. 鈥淐hallengers,鈥� $7.6 million.
4. 鈥淭arot,鈥� $6.5 million.
5. 鈥淕odzilla x Kong: The New Empire,鈥� $4.5 million.
6. 鈥淐ivil War,鈥� $3.6 million.
7. 鈥淯nsung Hero,鈥� $3 million.
8. 鈥淜ung Fu Panda 4,鈥� $2.4 million.
9. 鈥淎bigail,鈥� $2.3 million.
10. 鈥淕hostbuster: Frozen Empire,鈥� $1.8 million.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
