Will Smith plays an elite assassin in Gemini Man, but he wasn’t able to kill off the competition at the box office.
The action thriller from Paramount Pictures opened with an estimated $20.5 million, according to Comscore. That put the film in third place behind Joker, which took in another $55 million in its second weekend. Animated newcomer, The Addams Family, debuted in second place with $30.2 million.
Gemini Man was helmed by Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, and centers on a hit man targeted by a mysterious young operative who can predict his every move.
The technologically advanced drama was shot at a high frame rate (HFR), and features two versions of Smith — the aging assassin vs. his younger clone assassin.
Related Story: Will Smith to Play Drug Lord Nicky Barnes in Netflix Film ‘The Council’
Gemini Man also stars Clive Owen, Linda Emond, Benedict Wong, Ralph Brown, Douglas Hodge, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Theodora Miranne. The film had a reported production budget of $140 million, making its $20.5 million opening even more disappointing.
While the thriller features groundbreaking technology, critics said it lacked substance and gave the movie a meager 26 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The visuals are all that holds this film together,” wrote Catalina Combs of Black Girl Nerds.
Associated Press critic Lindsey Bahr called the film “distracting” and said the story was “curiously stale.”
Added Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times: “The idiotic spy thriller, pitting a dark-ops assassin against his younger clone, uses slick new technology but tired old plot twists.”
Read the full box office chart below.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.