‘The Rhythm Section’ Turns In A Historically Awful Box Office Debut As ‘Bad Boys’ Remains On Top

Coming into this weekend, no one really thought that the two big debuts, “The Rhythm Section” and “Gretel and Hansel,” would actually beat “Bad Boys For Life,” but no one saw just how badly they’d fail. But thankfully for the horror film, ‘Gretel,’ the film’s poor performance is actually viewed as decent when you compare it to the dismal opening of Blake Lively’s action film.

Directed by Reed Morano and starring Lively, “The Rhythm Section” was hoping to become the next big spy thriller franchise. However, things appeared to be doomed from the start, as the film experienced a six-month production hiatus after an on-set injury to Lively, leading to multiple theatrical release delays. And once the film was actually finished, clearly Paramount wasn’t thrilled with the result, giving the action film a January 30 release. But the studio really didn’t expect “The Rhythm Section” to fail this badly.

In its first weekend of release, “The Rhythm Section” earned only $2.8 million. That’s a shockingly bad number for any wide release, but it’s actually way worse than you might be imagining. Of every movie to ever be released in over 3,000 screens, “The Rhythm Section” has the single-worst box office debut ever, dethroning the previous record of $3.4 million recorded by “Hoot.”

With only a modest $50 million reported production budget, the studio and producers likely didn’t think there’d be much of an issue turning a profit. Sure, Blake Lively isn’t as much of a box office draw as Scarlett Johansson, but “The Rhythm Section” wouldn’t need anywhere near $1 billion to get in the black. Sadly, it would be a miracle for the film to even turn in a small fraction of that total after everything is all said and done. There could also be some extra salt on the wounds after tomorrow’s final numbers are released, as the estimates only have “The Rhythm Section” beating “Knives Out” by $50,000 for the 10th spot. Depending on how that shakes out, they could be looking at ‘Rhythm’ debuting outside the top 10. Ouch.

And with a ‘C+’ CinemaScore and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 33%, it doesn’t appear that the buzz is going to help the film out at all. Unlike many of the reviewers, I actually enjoyed the film and would recommend it, but there’s no denying that “The Rhythm Section” isn’t the next “Mission: Impossible” or female ‘Bond.’ What Morano and Lively have made is almost a psychological thriller more than an action film, where the trauma of the main character trumps any sort of high-octane thrills. And honestly, as much as that might entertain a certain segment of the audience, a psychological spy thriller isn’t the easiest thing to market.

Speaking of difficult films to market, this weekend also saw the release of the horror film “Gretel and Hansel.” Director Oz Perkins has made a name for himself as a quality horror director with the underrated film, “I Am The Pretty Thing that Lives in the House,” but his latest just wasn’t able to nab an audience, earning a subpar $6.1 million over its debut. Many people will point to the fact that horror films have had a bit of a slow start in 2020, with last weekend’s “The Turning” becoming the latest to disappoint, but honestly, the marketing for the film didn’t really do ‘Gretel’ justice.

Attempting to make a re-imagining of the classic fairy tale seem different by switching the names and promoting as an artsy horror film along the lines of “Hereditary” and “The Witch” just set folks up for disappointment. With reviews hovering around 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s clear that Perkins’ film just didn’t have the goods to back up a marketing campaign that made it seem more prestigious. And now, with a CinemaScore of only ‘C-,’ a recovery isn’t likely in the weeks to come.

So, here we are, with the third straight weekend with “Bad Boys For Life” capturing the top spot, with another $17.7 million domestically. Now, after three weekends, the three-quel has a domestic total of $148 million, eclipsing “Bad Boys II’s” $138 million total. Sony has to be elated as this result. The studio now has a viable franchise that can easily sustain at least one more film. And Will Smith has a new film that will help wash away the bad taste that “Gemini Man” left in people’s mouths last year.

As for other holdovers, both “1917” and “Dolittle” held strong, turning in $9.7 million and $7.7 million weekends, respectively.

Next weekend, ‘Bad Boys’ will hand over the box office crown to Margot Robbie and the ladies of “Birds of Prey.” Something catastrophic would have to happen to prevent the WB film from landing the top spot.

Here’s the entire domestic top 10 for January 30 to February 2:

Bad Boys For Life – $17.7M ($148M Overall)
1917 – $9.7M ($119M)
Dolittle – $7.7M ($55M)
Gretel and Hansel – $6.1M (Debut)
The Gentlemen – $6.01M ($20M)
Jumanji: The Next Level – $6M ($291M)
Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker – $3.2M ($507M)
The Turning – $3.1M ($11.7M)
Little Women – $3M ($99M)
The Rhythm Section – $2.8M (Debut)