‘The Fall Guy’ Tops Box Office – But Falls Short of Summer Splash

The Fall Guy opened at the top of the box office this weekend, but faltered in its big screen debut.

The action comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt kicked off the summer movie season with an estimated $28.5 million, Comscore reported Sunday. That was more than enough to crush the competition, but it fell short of analyst expectations, which had the film opening in the $30 million to $40 million range.

The Universal Pictures release played in 4002 locations across the U.S. and Canada, for a per theater average of $7,121.

In comparison, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 kicked off the summer movie season in May 2023, with $118.4 million from 4,450 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo. It went on to earn $846 million worldwide.

Also Read: ‘The Forge’ Trailer Offers Lessons on Faith, Family and Mentorship

The Fall Guy centers on a down-and-out stuntman trying to find the missing star of his ex-girlfriend’s film. It’s inspired by the 1980s TV series of the same name, starring Lee Majors.

With a reported $130 million production budget, plus marketing costs, The Fall Guy will have to flex a lot of muscle in the coming weeks to turn a profit.

The film is directed by David Leitch ( Hobbs & Shaw and Bullet Train), from a script written by Drew Pearce (Hobbs & Shaw, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation).

Audiences liked what they saw and gave the film an “A-” CinemaScore. Critics were equally impressed and handed the flick an 83 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Elsewhere this weekend at the box office, a blast from the past made a strong showing. The force was strong for a re-release of 1999’s
Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. The film took in $8 million from 2700 theaters, per Comscore.

Last week’s leader, Challengers was third with $7.6 million. Horror film Tarot opened in fourth place with $6.5 million, followed by Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire $4.5 million in its sixth week.