Hollywood Bombs at Global Box Office: ‘Him’ and ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ Disappoint
In a surprising twist, the international audience has outrightly dismissed two recent Hollywood productions. Universal’s sport-centered thriller, ‘Him’, and Sony’s love-inspired film, ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’, have not resonated well overseas.
The romantic spectacle, ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’, featuring renowned talents Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, charted a disappointing course at the global box office. In 45 countries, the flick could only manage to scrape together $4.5 million. The film trails the compelling narrative of two strangers whose unplanned encounter spirals into an enchanting journey.
On another end, ‘Him’, a gripping narrative produced by Jordan Peele and centered around a football star’s pursuit of greatness, didn’t fare any better. Highlighting the ambition of a footballer to rise to unprecedented ranks, it grossed a disheartening $400,000 across 25 regions.
The films were met with a lot of criticism, scoring terrible reviews and unimpressive audience scores. Among the two, ‘Him’ managed to pull ahead in domestic returns, accumulating $13.5 million. This figure has ballooned the movie’s total to $13.86 million worldwide.
The movie, ‘Him’, was pieced together within a comfortable budget of $27 million. It was meticulously directed by Justin Tipping and features Marlon Wayans as an experienced quarterback mentoring a burgeoning football player, portrayed by Tyriq Withers, with dire repercussions.
In pinpointing the reason behind the dismal performance, industry analyst David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research indicated that sports films, particularly American football-themed, rarely strike a chord with international audiences due to the sport’s predominantly American appeal.
‘Him’, however, might still be able to recoup its production costs solely from its domestic proceeds. Its budget of $27 million, according to Gross, was fair.
Yet, ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’, staggered not only internationally but also on its home turf. It managed a meager $3.5 million in North America, resulting in a global total of $8 million.
A few major markets, including France, Italy, and South Korea, are yet to introduce ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’. Despite its high production costs, the film is expected to perform better once it reaches these foreign markets, as commented by Gross.
‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle’, stands distinctly from both films, smashing records to become the biggest grossing anime film ever. The film pulled in an impressive $555 million worldwide, clearly becoming the audience favorite.
Supported by Sony in North America, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, and by Toho and Aniplex in Japan and across other Asian markets, ‘Demon Slayer’ demonstrated stupendous performance as it once again dominated overseas charts, earning $36 million from various markets.
So far, ‘Demon Slayer’ has raked in $451 million at the international box office, and $104 million domestically, shipping this anime sensation to success.
‘Infinity Castle’ is the genesis of a three-installment series surrounding the life of a young man who takes on the mantle of a demon slayer to rectify his family’s wrongs and cure his demon-transformed sister.
Slightly better fortunes were had by Universal with ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’. Enjoying its second weekend at the box office overseas, the film gathered $8.3 million from 35 markets.
The film, which continues the narrative from the popular television series, has amassed $27.9 million overseas and $31.6 million locally, totalling $59.5 million worldwide so far. Compared to the previous ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’, this movie outperformed its predecessor at the same stage in its theatrical run according to the studio.
Unfortunately, none of the films could match up to the box office success of the first screen adaptation, ‘Downton Abbey’ in 2019. The latter garnered incredible momentum, generating a whopping revenue of $194.6 million globally.