Angelina Jolie probably thought making a thriller with Taylor Sheridan was a good idea.
But “Those Who Wish Me Dead” is a terrible title, and critics were lukewarm with a 64 on Rotten Tomatoes.
Also, the movie never got a proper distributor.
The result is a box office bust at $2.8 million for the one time Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress in “Girl Interrupted.”
Angelina is in need of a non-comic book hit. Her biggest success is as Disney’s evil title character, “Maleficent.” But the second installment did 60% less than the first, so even Mal is less of an option.
Sheridan must have looked good on paper. His credits include the “Sicario” movies, writing “Hell or High Water,” and being part of the hit Kevin Costner series, “Yellowstone.” But he’s not much for female protagonists. And Jolie has her own PR and image issues. She’s better known for dogging Brad Pitt in custody court these days, which isn’t a great look.
So “Those Who Wish Me Dead” is dead. Jolie gets a new shot in Disney’s next Marvel project, “Eternals,” come November, but that’s another comic book movie. She’s got to find something as good as “A Mighty Heart,” in which she was terrific as Mariane Pearl, widow of murdered WSJ journalist Daniel Pearl.
