Why The Fall Guy Just Flopped
Breaking down the year's most shocking box office flop (so far).
Summer blockbuster season formally kicked off this past weekend with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt's new action-comedy The Fall Guy, which on paper had a hell of a lot going for it.
From the sheer likeability of its two leads, who are fresh off colossal hits in Barbie and Oppenheimer respectively, to the clout of director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train), and the film's strong reception from critics and audiences alike, this seemingly had every ingredient it needed to be a bonafide commercial smash.
And so, alarm bells began ringing when The Fall Guy opened to a disappointing $28 million in North America, far below original projections as high as $40 million.
This brutal underperformance ultimately makes it nigh-on impossible for the film to turn a profit theatrically, unfortunately kicking the cinematic summer off with a shocking flop and setting a bleak tone for the months to come.
But how did such a sure thing end up faltering so unexpectedly? By considering every facet of The Fall Guys' creation and release, a clearer picture emerges of precisely what led it to fall flat at the box office...
7. Ryan Gosling & Emily Blunt Aren't Box Office Draws
Though Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are certainly popular actors, they're actually not box office draws in of themselves, with neither actor having a single mega-hit to their name that was marketed primarily on their star power.
Even though the duo are fresh off the biggest hits of their careers in Barbie and Oppenheimer respectively, neither film was sold or made bank because of their name being attached.
Furthermore, both have their fair share of big-budget underperformances under their belt - most prominently Blade Runner 2049 for Gosling and Edge of Tomorrow for Blunt - so The Fall Guy's lackluster opening weekend isn't actually anything new for them.
This is ultimately part of a much wider recent trend in Hollywood, though, where contemporary audiences are considerably less-swayed to see a film on the strength of an A-lister alone.
Even with their singular charms and obvious chemistry, then, it's not enough to convince people to leave their house and buy a movie ticket.