‘The Fall Guy’ disappoints by raising $28.5 million

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NEW YORK (AP) — “The Fall Guy,” the comedy-action film about stuntmen who replace actors to perform dangerous stunts in Hollywood, opened this weekend, but disappointed expectations, grossing $28.5 million dollars, according to industry estimates released Sunday.

The Universal Pictures film, starring Ryan Gosling, opened on a weekend traditionally dominated by $100 million-plus releases. (In 2023, it was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” grossing 118 million). But last year’s strikes disrupted this year’s film calendar; “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which was set to premiere this weekend, will be released in July.

“The Fall Guy” was expected to gross between $30 million and $40 million.

“The Fall Guy”, directed by David Leitch, premiered after receiving good reviews and after being successful at the SXSW festival. But it will need a lot of viewers to justify its $130 million budget. It raised another 25.4 million abroad.

It has in its favor a good reaction from viewers (an “A-” in CinemaScore) and good critics (83% in Rotten Tomatoes).

But the disappointing results of “The Fall Guy” could bode poorly for the film industry. Superhero movies no longer attract as many people, so studios are looking for other alternatives. “The Fall Guy” seemed to fit the bill, with outrageous action scenes, a popular actor, a director known for hit films and good reviews.

But instead, the disappointing premiere of “The Fall Guy” only indicates that the film industry will have a hard time repeating the success of “Barbenheimer” last summer.

Partly because of last year’s strikes, there are fewer movies coming out this year. It is estimated that the total from all box office receipts will reach $3 billion, instead of the usual $4 billion.

As a surprise, the second highest-grossing film this weekend was the repeat release of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”, the first episode of the prequels made by George Lucas. It grossed $8.1 million, 25 years after “Phantom Menace” grossed $1 billion.

Last week’s top-grossing film, the tennis drama “Challengers,” moved into third place with $7.6 million in its second week, a 49% drop from its first weekend.

The horror movie Tarot” premiered grossing $6.5 million, decent for a low-budget movie, but another example of how the horror genre is not what it once was.

Estimated top ten grossing movies in the United States and Canada this weekend, Friday through Sunday, according to Comscore. The final figures come out on Monday.

1. “The Fall Guy” – $28,5 millones.

2. “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” – $8,1 millones.

3. “Challengers” – $7.6 million.

4. “Tarot” – $6.5 million.

5. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” – $4,5 millones.

6. “Civil War” – $3.6 million.

7. “Unsung Hero” – $3 million.

8. “Kung Fu Panda 4” – $2.4 million.

9. “Abigail” – $2.3 million.

10. “Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire” – $1.8 million.