Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Box Office Bust for Boots Riley: No One Wants to See His “I Love Boosters” Despite Good Reviews, Audience Has Dropped Every Day

Share

So much for “I Love Boosters.”

Boots Riley’s latest comedy is dying fast at the box office.

Now at $5.2 million after opening this past weekend, every day numbers have dropped precipitously.

Yesterday receipts were down 50% from Monday.

It’s no surprise. The Rotten Tomatoes audience score is a woeful 72%.

This is in direct opposition to the critics score of 92%.

But Neon couldn’t make audiences come to “I Love Boosters,” which has ‘cult film’ written all over it.

The subject: professional shoplifters exact revenge on the fashion industry. Keke Palmer and Lakeith Stanfield lead the cast, which also features Demi Moore.

It sounds like a new idea, but I remember Kerry Washington’s first film, called “Lift,” which was totally winning and established her career.

Riley had the same problem in 2018 with his “Sorry I Can’t Hear You.” Good reviews, no audience. Maybe wait another six years and see if people come around.

Donate to Showbiz411.com

Showbiz411 is now in its 13th year of providing breaking and exclusive entertainment news. This is an independent site, unlike the many Hollywood trades that are owned by one company. To continue providing news that takes a fresh look at what's going on in movies, music, theater, etc, advertising is our basis. Reader donations would be greatly appreciated, too. They are just another facet of keeping fact based journalism alive.
Thank you


Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

Read more

In Other News