The Fall Guy is the latest victim of a Hollywood trend that might see the end of theatres!

Movies these days are more of a production than a simple story led by a cast. If there is no pomp and circus around it, chances are, it won’t do much business. Even with some really popular names attached to projects, sometimes that is not enough. And Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt starrer The Fall Guy is a prime example of that.

Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in The Fall Guy
Sometimes, even if a movie has good reviews and high critic scores, people tend to wait for it to get to streaming services to watch it, rather than buying tickets for the theaters. And this is the biggest issue with today’s industry. Most movies go to streaming, even if it is a year later, and people are willing to wait for them. Unless the production around a movie is so hyped that watching it in theaters on the big screen feels like a must, viewers prefer being in the comfort of their homes to watch it.

The Fall Guy Looks For a Disappointing Box Office

The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in the lead has everything a movie needs to become a hit. A stellar cast, a good story led by an even better director, and enough action, comedy, and romance to make it work among the audience. Unfortunately, David Leitch, the director, did not follow the latest Hollywood trend of making a big production out of his movie.
L to R: Ryan Gosling, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ben Jenkin, Logan Holladay, Justin Eaton, and David Leitch on the set of THE FALL GUY, directed by David Leitch. (Credit: Universal)

Made on a budget of $130 million, the movie has managed to earn around $65 million on its opening weekend. On the domestic front, it has earned a meager $28 million, which is much less when you consider the star power of its leading couple. Both Gosling and Blunt were part of the BARBENHEIMER mania from last summer, so The Fall Guy is looking to be a disappointment for this summer.

While marketing wasn’t bad per se, Universal Studios and David Leitch did not have a separate budget for making The Fall Guy a trend like most hit movies of today’s time. For a movie to break even and do good business in the theaters, there needs to be good PR around it, and the hype needs to continue for a long time, so that people feel the need to come out of their homes and watch it in theaters. Sadly, The Fall Guy has failed at this.

Barbie Started a Trend, and Now Everyone Else is Suffering

Before Barbie was released in theaters last year, Warner Bros. had a separate budget of approximately $150 million for its marketing alone. They had pop-ups, a pink Barbie Dreamhouse in Malibu, and a boat, just to name a few. Their strategy was to have Barbie at the forefront and get people talking about it.

It felt like there was nothing that did not promote Barbie in some way or the other. From pink X-Boxes to branded clothing to Airbnb, everything had a touch of pink, and it worked. People went to watch the movie in hordes. Whether they loved it or not, they were in theatres to watch it. And it felt like finally, things were looking up for the theater business. But that’s not what actually happened.
A still from Barbie (image credit: Warner Brothers)
Chris Evangelista, the Editor of SlashSlashfilm, rightly said (via X):

“It genuinely feels like if a movie isn’t sold as an event (DUNE 2, BARBENHEIMER, etc), people just won’t go to see it. Bleak times for theatrical releases.”

Since Barbie, if a movie has a similar production value attached to the title, take Oppenheimer or Dune 2 or Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, for example, then sure, people will get tickets to watch it in theaters. Otherwise, take The Fall Guy, the latest summer flick for example, if the production value is less, so is its box office gross.