New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Edwin Davies: I think the novelty of seeing these guys together has worn pretty thin over the course of the two Expendables movies, as evidenced by the second making less than the first domestically, and the hook of "old guys break out of super jail!" was clearly not as interesting to audiences as "look: we have all the action stars!" On top of that, it's painfully obvious at this point that neither Arnie or Stallone is much a draw anymore (though the latter managed to eke a few hits out of making sequels to his back catalogue) and though the thought of seeing them together in a film would have been huge business 25 years ago, now it just looks kind of tired. (I fully expect to say the exact same things at Christmas when Grudge Match opens since it stands to sully both Rocky and Raging Bull.) Even with foreign grosses, I don't see this one getting close to earning its production budget and marketing back, so no one is walking away from this happy.

Jason Barney: Sadly, this is an awful result. There is no other way to describe it. I wonder if opening this in the middle of summer would have given it a little more pull, but I'm just thinking out loud. The numbers are just horrible. A $70 million investment pulling in pennies on weekend one. It does make you wonder if the box office significance of these two stars is at a low point.

Tim Briody: To steal a joke The Onion used earlier this year: "Escape Plan Poised To Be Biggest Movie of 1992." I think this year has proved that when it comes to washed up action stars, people only care about The Expendables now.

Kim Hollis: There was just nothing about Escape Plan that is appealing to that key younger demographic. Proving the point, 61% of the audience was over 30. The days of the "big action star" appear to be over, and I don't just mean for Arnie and Sly. I can't think of any younger actors (other than Jason Statham, and he's 46) who are making a living appearing in these sorts of films, and I think it would be incredibly challenging for someone to try to break out some of the types of franchises that made these two guys famous. The Fast/Furious Franchise is the only exception to the rule, I think.

Continued:       1       2       3       4