It would appear that Kevin Spacey is no longer the box-office draw he once was.
“Billionaire Boys Club” — which, unlike “All the Money in the World,” did not replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer after the two-time Oscar winner was accused of sexual misconduct late last year — didn’t exactly live up to its title this weekend. The financial thriller made a paltry $126 on its opening day, when it opened in 10 theaters across the country; it’s been available via VOD since the end of July.
In June, Vertical Entertainment released a statement explaining why it was moving ahead with the film’s release in spite of Spacey’s presence. “We hope these distressing allegations pertaining to one person’s behavior — that were not publicly known when the film was made almost two-and-a-half years ago and from someone who has a small, supporting role in Billionaire Boys Club — does not tarnish the release of the film,” it reads in part. “In the end, we hope audiences make up their own minds as to the reprehensible allegations of one person’s past, but not at the expense of the entire cast and crew present on this film.”
Spacey has no further projects in development at this time. He played Gore Vidal in the Netflix biopic “Gore,” which had already been completed at the time of the first wave of accusations against him; the streaming giant chose not to release it.
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A huge opening for Crazy Rich Asians meant smaller openings for the other newbies this weekend. First, a bit on that Kevin Spacey flick that opened via contractual obligation in just ten theaters. Yes, it earned well under $1,000 over the weekend (it made just $126 on Friday) which is awful even for a film that's been on VOD for the last month. But, it has been on VOD for the last month. And Vertical Entertainment certainly shouldn't have expected a big payday for the "James Bond Jr." version of Wolf of Wall Street even absent Kevin Spacey being implicated in decades of unwanted sexual harassment and assault.
But, yeah, while the Ansel Elgort/Taron Egerton 1980's financial scandal flick isn't the worst thing ever made (I watched it on my laptop while I did the dishes and made lunch in case I needed to talk about it), it was never the kind of movie that was going to break out in 2018. That's unfortunate since it's a movie-movie, complete with a decent budget, a fine cast and solid production values. Absent the Kevin Spacey situation, it's a squarely "okay" movie that is absolutely worth the VOD rental fee if you're so inclined. Ironically, Spacey is terrific in a key supporting role, and it would be an oddly fitting career capper if this really is his last role.
So, yeah, nobody went to see a movie that few folks would have even heard about absent the media-friendly association with a tarnished star. That's not a big deal in-and-of-itself. But it's another example of how Hollywood arbitrarily crowning young white actors as the next Tom Cruise doesn't make it so. And it's also another example of how just because folks implicated in #MeToo or #TimesUp scandals may attempt to launch comebacks doesn't mean that they will be successful. They have every right to try, and you, the consumer, have every right to make an informed choice about whether to support their next projects.
Mile 22 opened yesterday with a mediocre $13.6 million. That is a mediocre 2.58x multiplier for the weekend STX Entertainment’s Mile 22 is another one of their “old-school movie star cast to type” star vehicles that they would like to see become their stock and trade. In this case, it’s another Peter Berg-directed action drama for Mark Wahlberg. It’s their fourth film together in under five years, but it’s the first one that isn’t a true-life historical tragedy.
As noted the other day, the whole “Mark Wahlberg: movie star” situation is one that must be viewed through a new-fangled lens. It was just 6.5 years ago when Wahlberg was opening stuff like Contraband to $25 million on his name alone. And Lone Survivor opened with $35m in January 2014. That his last several star vehicles have comparatively suffered has as much to do with the “new normal” (adults don’t see adult movies in theaters as much as they did before Netflix and related VOD/streaming outlets offered a buffet of adult-skewing entertainments) as with any actual dwindling star power.
He’s still a draw in the right project (Paramount/Viacom Inc.'s Instant Family sounds like a pre-Thanksgiving winner), but Wahlberg as a rough-n-tumble action hero isn’t as big of a sell as it once was. It didn't help that adults flocking to the movies this weekend will likely either check out Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc.'s Crazy Rich Asians or catch up on the likes of Paramount/Viacom Inc.'s Mission: Impossible – Fallout or Universal/Comcast Corp.'s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Couple that with The Meg's overperformance and you have the entire adult moviegoing demographics otherwise occupied.
That this movie opened at all (and opened above the $11 million Fri-Sun wide launch of Patriot's Day in early 2017) is a slight testament to Wahlberg's star power. For STX, this is another lower-budget action vehicle along the likes of the surprisingly leggy Den of Thieves. That one legged it to $44.9m domestic on a $15.2m launch last January. And with much of the budget likely covered by foreign pre-sales, long legs and overseas success could get Berg and Wahlberg that sequel they keep claiming is absolutely going to happen.
Alas, Sony and Studio 8's Alpha won't be getting a sequel anytime soon. The Albert Hughes-directed actioner, set in the Ice Age, earned just $10.5m over the weekend. Even with strong reviews, this no-stars offering was a surefire whiff. The movie cost around $55m-$60m, but Sony was just the distributor for this Studio 8 whiff. They've been on a minor roll of late this summer ( Sicario 2, Equalizer 2, Hotel Transylvania 3), so now it'll be a matter of it they can open Venom and Goosebumps 2.
CLOSE Robin Wright is finally speaking out on her relationship with Kevin Spacey, as the award-winning show “House of Cards” soldiers on without him. Nathan Rousseau Smith has the latest. Buzz60
Kevin Spacey at the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards in Beverly Hills on Oct. 28, 2017, just two days before Anthony Rapp alleged Spacey made sexual advances on him. (Photo: Chris Pizzello, Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Kevin Spacey's new movie hit theaters this weekend. So, why didn't you hear anything about it?
The two-time Oscar winner has essentially been excommunicated from Hollywood after more than a dozen men and teen boys came forward last fall with accusations of sexual harassment and assault, including "Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp, who says Spacey made sexual advances on him when he was just 14.
Since then, Spacey has been fired from his hit Netflix series "House of Cards," which will end with a sixth and final season starring Robin Wright this fall. He also was wiped entirely from "All the Money in the World" after director Ridley Scott made the bold decision to recast him with Christopher Plummer and reshoot scenes just seven weeks before the film's release in December. The move paid off for Plummer, who netted an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his portrayal of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty.
Netflix similarly dropped "Gore," a Spacey-led Gore Vidal biopic that was set for release this year, which could make the new "Billionaire Boys Club" the actor's last big- or small-screen outing.
The movie, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, co-stars Ansel Elgort ("Baby Driver") and Taron Egerton (the "Kingsman" movies), and it has earned just 13 percent positive reviews from critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes. (Moviegoers were more forgiving: 42 percent gave it a thumbs-up.)
The film was unceremoniously dumped on video-on-demand and digital platforms such as iTunes and Amazon in July and opened Friday in a handful of theaters in 10 states, playing in or near cities such as Phoenix, New Orleans, Minneapolis and Chicago.
The Hollywood Reporter says the film earned just $287 in the U.S. on Friday and Saturday, though distributor Vertical Entertainment hasn't released weekend numbers. According to Box Office Mojo, "Billionaire Boys Club" has earned $1.5 million internationally in the last month.
"We don't condone sexual harassment on any level and we fully support victims of it," Vertical Entertainment said in an earlier statement provided to USA TODAY.
"At the same time, this is neither an easy nor insensitive decision to release this film in theaters. ... In the end, we hope audiences make up their own minds as to the reprehensible allegations of one person’s past, but not at the expense of the entire cast and crew present on this film."
So is "Billionaire" really as bad as its abysmal reviews and cagey release suggest? Short answer: no, but it may be something even worse – completely forgettable. The movie is based on the real-life Billionaire Boys Club, a group of wealthy young men in 1980s Los Angeles who ran a Ponzi scheme and wound up getting involved with shady investor/con man Ron Levin (Spacey).
As portrayed by Spacey, Ron is smooth-talking and flamboyant, splurging money he doesn't have on brightly colored tailored suits, a Rolls-Royce and his dog. He is a mentor of sorts to burgeoning scammers Joe Hunt (Elgort) and Dean Karny (Egerton) in their get-rich-quick scheme, delivering ham-handed platitudes like "Billionaire or bust" and "You're a hustler just like me."
There are occasional uncomfortable moments, given the allegations against Spacey. Levin, who was gay, surrounds himself with handsome young men and leeringly gazes at Joe throughout their first meeting at his mansion. Later, Levin calls Joe to his table at a restaurant, where he's dining with Andy Warhol (Cary Elwes). They joke about how a male acquaintance has a "love boat between his legs" that's as "big as a salami."
Still, Spacey makes for a convincing, charismatic bad guy, and the film suffers when he's not onscreen, as his co-stars spout empty cliches about money, women and how to get them both.
Contributing: Kim Willis
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Had it opened a year ago, Kevin Spacey’s ensemble crime-drama Billionaire Boys Club may have had a welcoming debut at the box office. But since Anthony Rapp and many other men began coming forward with accusations against the actor of sexual harassment and assault, Spacey’s career quickly took a downward spiral.
Last year, Spacey was removed from House of Cards and the film All the Money in the World, but this indie film appeared to be the last-ditch effort of his career. BBC opened in only 10 theaters, and according to the Hollywood Reporter, earned a truly pathetic low of $126 on its first day. That means only about a dozen people saw it on opening night.
And the movie isn’t without its stars. Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton, Emma Roberts, and more are cast in the 1980s-set film based on a club of the same name. In it, Spacey plays Ron Levin, a con artist who allegedly swindled the club and was later murdered.
Vertical Entertainment decided to release the film, despite the mounting accusations against Spacey and his tarnished public reputation.
"We hope these distressing allegations pertaining to one person’s behavior—that were not publicly known when the film was made almost two-and-a-half years ago and from someone who has a small, supporting role in Billionaire Boys Club—does not tarnish the release of the film," Vertical told THR in June. "In the end, we hope audiences make up their own minds as to the reprehensible allegations of one person’s past, but not at the expense of the entire cast and crew present on this film."
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But Spacey's role in the film did have a huge impact on its success, and he's clearly not making a grand comeback anytime soon.
