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

Kim Hollis: Criminal, an action thriller featuring Kevin Costner and Ryan Reynolds, debuted with just $5.8 million. What went wrong here?

John Hamann: Didn’t this just come out and was called Self/Less? Ryan Reynolds can’t seem to stay in one body these days. Reviews killed Criminal. It aimed at older adults - so it couldn’t do a Batman/Superman, and just blow through bad reviews. Kevin Costner should support other actors now until better scripts come along – he’s not making Deadpool 2. The bigger story here is the umpteenth consecutive dud for Lionsgate, as they are having an awful, awful year.

Jason Barney: I agree with the earlier comments about this being sad territory for Lionsgate. Their most recent run is pretty dismal and The Criminal is not going to help much.

On a personal level, I was hoping this one was going to break out a little bit. It is the homer in me, but I enjoy seeing the actors (Kevin Costner) of my youth remaining relevant at the box office. He had a decent and somewhat successful run at the box office over the last couple of years. McFarland USA, Black or White, Draft Day, and 3 Days to Kill were all smaller projects that at least made a little money for the studios involved. Under the radar type successes.

The Criminal will not do as well, unfortunately.

Ryan Kyle: The fact that Costner's quiet Oscar-hopeful drama, Black or White, opened to bigger numbers than this rollicking action thriller with some major stars really shows how bad of a job Lionsgate did to sell this film (as well as how bad the reviews really are). I think everyone involved will come out unscathed and it will be forgotten about until it is on Netflix in nine months.

David Mumpower: I had the same thought as Hamann. I don't understand why Ryan Reynolds would take two projects so similar in story in such a short period of time. The actual performance reminds me of All About Steve, the in-between movie for Sandra Bullock that she sandwiched with The Proposal and The Blind Side. Reynolds is coming off a very recent mega-blockbuster. The fact that there was little studio support and virtually no media appearances for the lead actor tells me that everybody knew this was a bomb. So, everyone involved politely agreed to let this one die, leaving it as a tax write-off disguised as a thriller.

Kim Hollis: Now that we've had a few weeks to observe the behavior of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, what are your thoughts on the project and the future Justice League films?

John Hamann: I’ve been all over this in the wrap, but will sum up: box office-wise, Batman v Superman has behaved like Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four all the way, just with bigger numbers. This mistake will haunt future releases – if the tone and critical reaction continue through to Suicide Squad, the Justice League movie might as well carry the subtitle Quest for Peace, and fold up shop after. This example will be held up for eons as what not to with a franchise.

Continued:       1       2