Ben Stiller Felt “Blindsided” By ‘Zoolander 2’ Box Office Flop: “I Thought Everybody Wanted This”

J. Kim Murphy The summer box office isn’t exactly starting with a bang. Universal’s action-romance “The Fall Guy,” starring Ryan Gosling as a Hollywood stuntman courting a rising director played by Emily Blunt, earned $10.4 million from 4,002 locations on its opening day, a figure that includes $3 million and change from preview screenings.

Moviegoing remains in a sling, evident in Universal’s The Fall Guy currently coming in lower than expected with $28M this weekend. Perhaps Furiosa and Garfield can bring some zing over Memorial Day weekend at the end of the month. Both hit three-week tracking Thursday, with the Warner Bros/Village Roadshow Mad Max prequel eyeing a $40M-$50M domestic opening over the Friday-Monday span of May 24-27 with Sony/Alcon Entertainment’s Garfield at $35M.

We’re already in the fifth month of 2024, but new data about the 2023 box office is still coming in and we’ve learned some interesting things!

Broadway‘s busy, busy spring of new shows came to an end today with this morning’s Tony nominations announcement, and while the impact, if any, of the nominations won’t be felt at the box office for a while, there were some indications last week about how things could pan out.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, two essential ingredients in the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, will leave Barbieland and Los Alamos behind them as they team up for “The Fall Guy.” But will audiences turn up in force to see the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” stars when their new action comedy debuts this weekend? Well, “The Fall Guy” isn’t going to hit those films’ box office heights, but it should have no trouble topping charts as it kicks off the summer movie season. The film is expected to earn north of $30 million, with some rival studio executives pegging the opening at between $35 million to $40 million. The catch is that movie wasn’t cheap to produce, boasting a healthy budget of $130 million, so “The Fall Guy” will need strong word-of-mouth if it’s going to leg it out on the long path to profitability.

The domestic box office at $2 billion currently this year is dragging 21% behind the same January-April spread last year, and when Universal’s Fall Guy commences the hot moviegoing season this Friday with a hopeful $35M, expect summer to drag some more.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “Challengers,” led by Zendaya, debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £1.6 million ($2 million), according to numbers from Comscore. In its third weekend, Studiocanal’s “Back to Black” dropped to second place with £1.4 million for a total of £8.9 million.

have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the US and Canada.“We’re obviously very, very happy with the number,” said Kevin Wilson, who heads theatrical distribution for Amazon Studios and MGM. “Looking at the audience who showed up, it’s really encouraging.

Challengers is No. 1!

While Ben Stiller has seemingly shifted into filmmaking full-time, he directed most of the hit sci-fi psychological thriller series, “Severance,” for Apple TV+; he’s obviously known for a celebrated comedy career. Directing and starring in hit comedies like “Zoolander,” “Tropic Thunder” and “The Cable Guy” (though only a tiny part in the latter), the comedian has reflected on the failure of “Zoolander 2” in a new interview with Fail Better podcast.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean comedy action film “The Roundup: Punishment” destroyed all competition in local theaters on its Wednesday opening day. The film earned $4.92 million from 821,000 ticket sales, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That represented a crushing 97% share of the day’s theatrical market. Including a smattering of previews over the latest weekend, the film finished Wednesday with a cumulative of $5.26 million earned from 862,000 spectators. Earlier, it was reported that the film had broken the Korean record for advanced ticket sales.

Ben Stiller has said that the Zoolander 2 flop affected him “for a long time” in a new interview.Stiller, who wrote, produced, directed and starred in the 2016 sequel reflected on the experience with X-Files actor David Duchovny’s upcoming podcast, Fail Better.Stiller said: “I thought everybody wanted this…And then it’s like, ‘Wow, I must have really fucked this up. Everybody didn’t go to it.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter AMC Theatres, the world’s largest cinema chain, is leaning into distribution. The company is expanding its distribution team with a key hire and promotion, underscoring its committment to releasing its own movies in addition to showcasing titles from traditional and independent studios. AMC Theatres launched its distribution team with the premieres of last year’s concert films, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” and “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.” Stephanie Terifay has joined AMC in the newly created position of VP of Distribution.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Game, set… but there’s not much of a match. “Challengers,” a steamy tennis drama starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino, is poised to lead the domestic box office without much in the way of competition. The film, from Amazon MGM, is projected to collect $12 million to $15 million from 3,400 North American theaters in its opening weekend.

Ben Stiller is looking back at one of his box office misses.

Fail Better.“I thought everybody wanted this,” the 58-year-old said. “And then it’s like, ‘Wow, I must have really f—ed this up.

remained the top film in theaters in its second week of release, according to studio estimates Sunday.The A24 election-year gamble, the indie studio’s biggest budgeted film yet, took in $11.1 million in ticket sales at 3,929 theaters over the weekend.The $50 million film, set in a near-future US in which Texas and California have joined in rebellion against a fascist president, has grossed $44.9 million in two weeks.Its provocative premise – and A24’s marketing, which included images of US cities ravaged by war – helped keep “Civil War” top of mind for moviegoers.But it was a painfully slow weekend in theaters – the kind sure to add to concern over what’s thus far been a down year for Hollywood at the box office.Year-to-date ticket sales are down almost 20% compared to last year, according to Comscore.Going into the weekend, Universal Pictures’ “Abigail,” a critically acclaimed R-rated horror film about the daughter of Dracula, had been expected to lead ticket sales.It came in second with $10.2 million in 3,384 theaters.That was still a fair result for a film that cost a modest $28 million to make.

Variety reported.In second place was Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” which saw $3.7 million in sales in its debut. The Post said the director “chooses fun over facts” in the fictionalized World War II story.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Joseph Quinn is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in the upcoming tentpole “The Fantastic Four,” starring opposite Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) and Julia Garner (the Silver Surfer named Shalla-Bal). It’s a pivotal time for the MCU as debates over “superhero fatigue” rage on following the onslaught of 2023 comic book movie flops, which included Marvel’s own “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels.” Is Quinn worried about Marvel superhero fatigue as he gears up to shoot “The Fantastic Four” and enter the MCU? He shrugged off any concerns in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Talk about nepo babies. “Abigail,” a blood-sucking thriller about the daughter of Dracula, arguably the most famous vampire in history, is poised to lead at the domestic box office. The R-rated movie, from Universal Pictures, is aiming for $12 million to $15 million from 3,300 North American theaters in its first weekend of release.