“The Expendables 4,” an action-thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham, flopped in its box office debut. It recorded a franchise-low of $8.3 million in the opening weekend. It struggled in second place behind “The Nun II.” Nun II collected $8.4 million in its third weekend.
As film releases were hampered by the SAG-AFTRA strike, this weekend’s collective ticket sales resulted in the lowest-grossing box office frame of the year. Not a single film managed to clear $10 million. Let’s find out more.
Heading into the weekend, the Lionsgate and Millennium “Expendables 4” was expected to open to $15 million. This is from 3,400 North American theaters. However, that did not pan out. Opening weekend figures weren’t anywhere close to its series predecessors! 2014’s “Expendables 3” gained $15.8 million, the 2012 sequel earned $28.5 million, and 2010’s original “Expendables” got $34.8 million.
The figures show that the “Expendables” series has declined in popularity at the domestic box office. However, the franchise has remained popular globally. The last two ‘Expendables’ movies have dropped sharply from the previous movies. The weekend figure is below average for the genre. Poor reviews and audience ratings have also contributed to the lackluster interest in “The Expendables 4”.
Studios are close to entering a deal with the writers on strike, and there’s hope for a similar agreement with the actors’ union as well. This would give stars the ability to promote their upcoming films, which in turn could boost box office returns.
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