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Sylvester Stallone’s action thriller ‘Bullet to the Head’ gave a pitiful performance on its opening weekend, scraping only $4.5million nation-wide at the box office.
The high-octane flick, described by one critic as a ‘testosterone time warp,’ cost an estimated $41million to make.
The debut of Stallone’s violent thriller comes on the heels of another disappointing 2013 action film debut – Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘The Last Stand,’ which also performed poorly.
Axed: 'Bullet to the Head,' starring Sylvester Stallone, left, and and Jason Momoa, performed poorly at the box office on its opening weekend
The former California governor’s comeback film earned only $7.2million in its opening weekend last month, and was met with tepid reviews from critics.
Like Schwarzenegger, this is Stalone’s first lead role in some time. The 66-year-old ‘Rocky’ star hadn’t played the lead in a film since ‘The Expendables’ franchise some years ago.
Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen has an idea why movies like Stallone’s ‘Bullet’ and Schwarzenegger’s ‘Stand’ have performed so poorly – in the months after one of the most violent school shootings on record, many Americans don’t want to be reminded of violence, even if it’s scripted.
The critic emphatically writes: ‘Remember the good old days when people could enjoy watching an action hero who shoots a lot of people without feeling like they were contributing to the ruin of society? Sylvester Stallone sure hopes so.’
Jensen said that he personally did not want to watch the film, in part because of the wounds from Sandy Hook had not healed, and because he himself is a father to young children.
And perhaps his feelings are shared with the millions of other Americans who have not seen the film or do not care for the sorts of pulpy kitsch put out by Stallone.
But moviegoers have shown that they have no qualms watching films about the supernatural or the undead.
The infatuated zombies of ‘Warm Bodies’ opened this weekend with an impressive $20million, according to studio estimates.
Even with the Super Bowl today, estimates show that Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment, the same studio behind the ‘Twilight’ saga, has cracked the code on its teenaged audiences.
Along with the weak performance of Jason Statham's 'Parker,' which has taken in $12.4 million in two weeks for FilmDistrict, moviegoers aren't turning out for traditional R-rated action movies. That trend should reverse itself when Bruce Willis' 'A Good Day to Die Hard' opens February 14.
Last week's top film, Paramount's 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,' dropped to second with $9.2 million on the weekend.
The other debut of note was Lionsgate's 'Stand Up Guys,' which stars Al Pacino and Christopher Walken as veteran gangsters on a last hurrah romp. Though it opened in limited release in 659 theaters, it took in just $1.5million.
The most Super Bowl-appropriate film in theaters, the Oscar-nominated 'Silver Linings Playbook,' continued to add to its stretched-out run for the Weinstein Co.
The film, which centers on a family of diehard Philadelphia Eagles fans, came in third place, adding $8.1million for a cumulative total of $80.4million.
Sylvester Stallone’s action thriller ‘Bullet to the Head’ gave a pitiful performance on its opening weekend, scraping only $4.5million nation-wide at the box office.
The high-octane flick, described by one critic as a ‘testosterone time warp,’ cost an estimated $41million to make.
The debut of Stallone’s violent thriller comes on the heels of another disappointing 2013 action film debut – Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘The Last Stand,’ which also performed poorly.
Axed: 'Bullet to the Head,' starring Sylvester Stallone, left, and and Jason Momoa, performed poorly at the box office on its opening weekend
The former California governor’s comeback film earned only $7.2million in its opening weekend last month, and was met with tepid reviews from critics.
Like Schwarzenegger, this is Stalone’s first lead role in some time. The 66-year-old ‘Rocky’ star hadn’t played the lead in a film since ‘The Expendables’ franchise some years ago.
Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen has an idea why movies like Stallone’s ‘Bullet’ and Schwarzenegger’s ‘Stand’ have performed so poorly – in the months after one of the most violent school shootings on record, many Americans don’t want to be reminded of violence, even if it’s scripted.
The critic emphatically writes: ‘Remember the good old days when people could enjoy watching an action hero who shoots a lot of people without feeling like they were contributing to the ruin of society? Sylvester Stallone sure hopes so.’
Jensen said that he personally did not want to watch the film, in part because of the wounds from Sandy Hook had not healed, and because he himself is a father to young children.
And perhaps his feelings are shared with the millions of other Americans who have not seen the film or do not care for the sorts of pulpy kitsch put out by Stallone.
But moviegoers have shown that they have no qualms watching films about the supernatural or the undead.
The infatuated zombies of ‘Warm Bodies’ opened this weekend with an impressive $20million, according to studio estimates.
Even with the Super Bowl today, estimates show that Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment, the same studio behind the ‘Twilight’ saga, has cracked the code on its teenaged audiences.
Along with the weak performance of Jason Statham's 'Parker,' which has taken in $12.4 million in two weeks for FilmDistrict, moviegoers aren't turning out for traditional R-rated action movies. That trend should reverse itself when Bruce Willis' 'A Good Day to Die Hard' opens February 14.
Last week's top film, Paramount's 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,' dropped to second with $9.2 million on the weekend.
The other debut of note was Lionsgate's 'Stand Up Guys,' which stars Al Pacino and Christopher Walken as veteran gangsters on a last hurrah romp. Though it opened in limited release in 659 theaters, it took in just $1.5million.
The most Super Bowl-appropriate film in theaters, the Oscar-nominated 'Silver Linings Playbook,' continued to add to its stretched-out run for the Weinstein Co.
The film, which centers on a family of diehard Philadelphia Eagles fans, came in third place, adding $8.1million for a cumulative total of $80.4million.
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