Gemini Man is a Box Office Flop
Paramount Pictures
Gemini Man, the latest Will Smith film which sees Ang Lee in the director's seat, had a $28 million opening weekend. Its second weekend saw a significant -58% drop after earning $8.5 million. In two weeks the $139 million project’s box office grossed an underwhelming $36 million domestically totaling a worldwide gross of $122,059,356. Gemini Man also opened in China last weekend (Oct. 17) generating only about $8 million. Lee’s film will most likely face a steady decline at the box office as Joker continues to dominate the October box office, and as Hustlers and It: Chapter 2 both end their strong theatrical runs.
This flop isn’t an anomaly to either Smith or Lee whose most recent films were complete commercial failures. With flops such as After Earth, Collateral Beauty, Concussion, and now Gemini Man under his belt, it’s questionable just how bankable Will Smith’s name is an actor. Only the franchise titles which he has featured in the past few years (Aladdin, Suicide Squad, Men in Black III) have seen success but it’s difficult to tell if that’s Smith pulling in the numbers or the appeal of the grander cinematic universes he joins. For Lee, a two-time Academy Award director, Gemini Man will also see a similar commercial performance to his last film Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk which couldn’t match its $40 million budget.
Lee has directed two the 21st century’s most gorgeous films, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Life of Pi, and Smith is arguably one of the most famous stars on the planet. So why is Gemini Man doing so poorly?
One reason might be because the film is wedged between releases of a lot of highly anticipated films both big and independent. Alongside Joker, Hustlers, and It: Chapter 2’s success, Gemini Man also had to compete against Ad Astra, Rambo: Last Blood, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Zombieland: Double Tap, and even Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse as it expands to more theaters. With Disney and Marvel practically dominating ticket sales since the release of Captain Marvel back in March up until Spiderman: Homecoming at the end of summer, this mid-October release date is seemingly the only chance Lee’s film had a fighting chance at the box office this year. Yet, Gemini Man simply could not find an audience against the year’s more artisan, smaller franchise and cult films.
Gemini Man also doesn’t feature anything which isn’t quite new to audiences. Its de-aging technology, which was highly marketed in trailers and featured looks, also stands alongside several recent films which have also cut back years on actors. Doppelganger stories are also quite popular, and many audiences already got the perfect dose of double action with Jordan Peele’s Us earlier this year.
The two decade fight to struggle to get Gemini Man in theaters might also be telling of just how much trust studios had in this movies success. Since 1997, several directors have been attached to the project including the late Tony Scott, Curtis Hanson, and Joe Carnahan with Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Sean Connery all considered for the lead male protagonist. The development trouble finally came to a close back in 2017 when Lee and Smith were officially on board with the project.
BOX OFFICE ROUNDUP: Hustlers is the third biggest movie of this Fall so far with a total worldwide gross of $126,147,206 off a $20 million budget. Its $33 million opening weekend was the biggest in STX Entertainment’s history as well as the largest box office opening for stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu.