Expend4bles hit with a one-two punch of extremely harsh reviews while eyeing a franchise low box office debut of just $15 million
- Expend4bles currently stands at 18% on Rotten Tomatoes from the first 28 reviews, which is the lowest score in the franchise behind The Expendables (41%), The Expendables 2 (67%) and The Expendables 3 (31%)
- With that being said, harsh reviews aren’t often the death knell for an action movie’s box office performance, though things aren’t looking up for Expend4bles there either
- Although Expend4bles is expected to top the box office this weekend, it’s expected to do so with a debut of jus $15 million, which would be the lowest opening weekend in franchise history
With just hours before Thursday night sneak preview screenings of Expend4bles open, the action-sequel has been hit with a devastating one-two punch: horrible reviews and the lowest box office debut in franchise history.
The review embargo on Expend4bles – the fourth installment of Sylvester Stallone’s action franchise – lifted on Thursday afternoon, and most aren’t positive.
Expend4bles currently stands at 18% on Rotten Tomatoes from the first 28 reviews, which is the lowest score in the franchise behind The Expendables (41%), The Expendables 2 (67%) and The Expendables 3 (31%).
With that being said, harsh reviews aren’t often the death knell for an action movie’s box office performance, though things aren’t looking up for Expend4bles there either.
Although Expend4bles is expected to top the box office this weekend, it’s expected to do so with a debut of jus $15 million, which would be the lowest opening weekend in franchise history.
Bad box office and reviews: With just hours before Thursday night sneak preview screenings of Expend4bles open, the action-sequel has been hit with a devastating one-two punch: horrible reviews and the lowest box office debut in franchise history
Reviews: The review embargo on Expend4bles – the fourth installment of Sylvester Stallone’s action franchise – lifted on Thursday afternoon, and most aren’t positive
The Expendables debuted in 2010, with Stallone leading a cast of action icons like Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Terry Crews and Bruce Willis, to name a few.
Stallone also directed from a script he co-wrote with Dave Callaham, debuting in August 2010 to a strong $34.8 million en route to $103 million domestic and $274.4 million worldwide from an $80 million budget.
The Expendables 2 arrived in 2012, and despite adding stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, it still dipped slightly in its opening weekend ($28.5 million) and domestic haul ($85 million),
However, the new stars helped it earn huge gains overseas ($229.9 million) for a worldwide total of $314.9 million from a $100 million budget.
The Expendables 3 arrived in 2014, upping the ante with its biggest cast to date – adding Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes and Ronda Rousey – though the box office didn’t grow as a result.
The Expendables 3 opened to a franchise low $15.8 million in early August 2014, en route to just $39.2 million domestic.
Despite the paltry domestic take, the threequel still performed fairly well overseas with $175.3 million in foreign territories for a $214.6 million worldwide tally.
Eight years later, the franchise returns with franchise regulars like Stallone, Statham, Lundgren and Randy Couture, plus Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Andy Garcia and international action icons Tony Jaa (The Protector) and Iko Uwais (The Raid), though the added star power doesn’t seem to help its box office prospects.
Icons: The Expendables debuted in 2010, with Stallone leading a cast of action icons like Jason Statham , Dolph Lundgren , Jet Li, Terry Crews and Bruce Willis , to name a few
Writer-director-star: Stallone also directed from a script he co-wrote with Dave Callaham, debuting in August 2010 to a strong $34.8 million en route to $103 million domestic and $274.4 million worldwide from an $80 million budget
Paltry: Despite the paltry domestic take, the threequel still performed fairly well overseas with $175.3 million in foreign territories for a $214.6 million worldwide tally
Franchise newcomer: Eight years later, the franchise returns with franchise regulars like Stallone, Statham, Lundgren and Randy Couture, plus Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Andy Garcia and international action icons Tony Jaa (The Protector) and Iko Uwais (The Raid), though the added star power doesn’t seem to help its box office prospects
As for the reviews, The New York Times’ Amy Nicholson admitted to ‘cheering on’ the heroes for parts of the film, but added the film’s last reel is, ‘so awful – so sneeringly contemptuous of our good-faith efforts to play along with these shenanigans.’
Variety’s Owen Gleiberman called the sequel, ‘true 21st-century trash: a movie in which the action itself is expendable.’
The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck stated plainly: ‘it’s time to put a fork in the series; it’s done.’
IGN’s Simon Thompson called it an, ‘unrelentingly disappointing movie’ and added that anyone who has left the franchise before this movie, ‘should consider themselves lucky.’
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