The Fall Guy is basically the perfect date movie. It really is. It has romance, comedy, and strong female characters. Yet it does this without making the male lead into a clutz, it pokes fun at the movie business, and has good action and stunts. It would make your date happy, without making you want to tear your own eyes out. So why is it on course to lose money at the box office?
Seriously? A big tentpole release, early in the season, and a perfect date movie… what went wrong? The Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt-led movie has grossed $167 million worldwide.
Now a new feature in Variety has covered this, and dived deeper into some of the challenges faced this summer season. It is not good reading for Hollywood.
Budgets are the problem. As we have all been saying here at the Outpost for a while, Hollywood spending is out of control. Godzilla Minus One just embarrassed the whole town. Meanwhile, The Fall Guy cost $140 million to make.
Standard Hollywood analysis means this movie has to make over $300 million just to break even.
As the report says, if The Fall Guy came in at $80 million to make, it would be comfortable. The moment movies stray far over $100 million it means there could be trouble ahead.
The Variety report then skewers the rest of the summer box office so far. Furiosa cost $168 million and is on track to lose $75-95 million for Warner Bros. John Krasinski’s fantasy family film IF somehow cost $110 million to make, and only sits at $164 million worldwide. A big loss looms in its near future.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is talked of as a success, sitting at $362 million worldwide. However it cost $160 million, so needs a few more million in the pot to turn a profit.
Is there really anything big left on the horizon that can dig Hollywood out of its self-created hole this season? All eyes on Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, and Deadpool & Wolverine to arrest the slide.
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