Well, this is a sad surprise.
Universal Pictures is throwing in the towel on “The Fall Guy.” The Ryan Reynolds – Emily Blunt action comedy will hit VOD and streaming tomorrow, May 21st. That’s just 19 days after it opened to a lot of fanfare.
“The Fall Guys” has made just $62.8 million in that time, and there doesn’t seem potential for much more. Total worldwide is $127 million. “The Fall Guy” got very good reviews and had two hot stars. But audiences didn’t connect with it. That’s too bad because the budget is pegged at $140 million.
Universal’s marketing department is one of the best, so this whole thing doesn’t make sense. What’s worse is that audiences are becoming accustomed to movies coming to their living rooms in just three weeks. Theater owners must be very disappointed and angry.
Will this be a trend? Unfortunately, I think so. “Civil War” is coming on Friday after six dragging weeks and $67 million. “Challengers” isn’t far behind.
But what if a film is a hit in theaters? Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” is going to theaters on Friday, but just for two weeks. Then it goes to Netflix. The difference is that “Hit Man” is so good it should be very big in theaters. I don’t think that will matter to Netflix. I wish it did.
“The Fall Guy” on video will come with extra material.
