LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPBER 08: (EMBARGOED TO PUBLICATION IN UKTABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL48 HOURS AFTER CREATE TIME AND DATE) Guy Ritchie, Jason Statham, attend the 2009 GQ Men Of The Year Awards, held at The Royal Opera House, London, England, on September 8, 2009. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images). Getty ImagesOthers and I have written a lot about what movie a's success or failure means for pandemic-era (and hopefully post-pandemic) moviegoing. It's great that F9 opened with $70million domestic, Godzilla Vs. Kong stomped over $100 million in North America, and Marvels Black Widow is slated for a launch of more than/under $85million next week. These franchises are among the most trusted. This is what this means for the old-school movie-movie. The star-driven programmer was already in decline five years prior to Covid, due to a shift from theatrical moviegoing towards streaming. Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham's Wrath Of Man are in this sense the summer's most successful box office stories.The R-rated remake of a French action film from 2004 has quietly set new standards for an action movie by Jason Statham. This brutal and relentless thriller about a mob boss who infiltrates the cash truck driver company to smoke out the robbers that killed his son was the official kick-off movie of summer 2021. It opened the May slot normally reserved for the big MCU movie. By default, it was the first biggie of summer for 30 years. Even though it was a $8 million debut, $27 million domestic is not a huge success in isolation. It had a huge opening weekend, a strong domestic gross, and a surprisingly large worldwide cume ($99million and counting), as it would have under non-Covid conditions.Wrath of Man's small-scale/low key success is a sign of hope that other non-franchise star-driven films, with a skew towards the adult, might be able to thrive in theatrical exhibition. This is all relative to budget and expectations. Wrath of Man, despite the pandemic and other challenges, is Statham's highest-grossing nonfranchise/solo-action movie in global raw earnings. STX has just announced the January 21st 2022 release date of its next Guy Ritchie-directed, Jason Statham-starring actioner. Hugh Grant stars as the villain and Aubrey Plaza plays Aubrey Plaza. Cary Elwes, Bugzy Malone and Bugzy Malone discuss an attempt to stop a weapon sales with the assistance of a well-known movie star (Josh Hartnett). Although it's not Spy 2, it will have to be enough. It is one of the four new theatrical titles that STX Films has dated.Queenpins, a coupon counterfeit scam drama starring Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell–Baptiste, is scheduled for September 10, 2021. It will be accompanied by James Wans' R-rated horror film Malignant. Paramount+ will premiere it after a theatrical release, presumably as a safety net for commercials. National Champions, a Ric Rome Waugh-directed college football drama about a strike of players over compensation, stars Stephen James, Alexander Ludwig, and will be released theatrically on November 24, 2021, along with the new Resident Evil reboot and Disneys Enchanto. The Chris Pine thriller Violence of Action, which may be the most silly title I can recall for such a movie, is about a former U.S. Special Forces Officer who runs into problems while working as an outgoing private contractor. It will open alongside Steven Spielberg's West Side Story on December 10, 2021.These films are not likely to be popular. I am less inclined to yell at people for not coming for non-franchise star-driven programmers mindset. There are many pandemic variables. STX Films was founded in 2015 to distribute old-school, non-tentpole programmers between blockbusters. Things changed due to the fact that few people go to movies to see blockbusters. But STX Films was established in 2015 to distribute old-school non-tentpole studio programmers. Ritchies The Gentlemen earned $115 million with a $35 million budget early 2020.The hilarious Dave Bautista/Chloe Coleman comedy My Spy was sold to Amazon, where it quickly became a popular streaming sensation. They also released Songbird, a pandemic sci fi thriller by Michael Bay onto PVOD. Work, the Sabrina Carpenter dance school drama, and Rosamund Pikes' buzzy crime thriller I Care A Lot went to Netflix. Gerard Butler's (in Ric RomWaugh we trust) disaster drama Greenland made enough money via international box office ($45m), a HBO Max pay-tv agreement ($20m) and PVOD for a sequel. STX isn't giving up on theatrical distribution. This is especially true as they continue to offer the star-driven, non-franchise flicks that everyone wants but can only wait to stream. The shockingly solid performance of Wrath of Man was either a mirage, or a glimpse of hope.
