Movie

The action drama film starring the 'Gossip Girl' alum is a huge disaster with less than $3 million on its opening weekend, while 'Bad Boys for Life' continues its winning streak in its third week.

• Feb 3, 2020

AceShowbiz - Box Office has seen another major letdown in "The Rhythm Section". The action drama film, starring Blake Lively and directed by Reed Morano, bombed on its opening weekend, scoring less than $3 million in North America to barely debut in the top ten.

"The Rhythm Section" was initially projected to open anywhere from $10M-$15M, before it was adjusted to around $5 million last week, per Box Office Mojo. But the movie didn't even manage to score that much, with approximately $2.8 million from 3,049 screens, giving it a low average of just $918 per theater.

That marks the lowest opening ever for a movie debuting at 3,000-plus theaters, worse than 2006's "Hoot" which previously held the title with its $3.4 million opening weekend. With a production budget of $50 million, "The Rhythm Section" is predicted to suffer losses around $30M-$40M.

Prior to its poor box office performance, the movie was severely beaten up by critics, holding an approval rating of 33% based on 110 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The website's critical consensus reads, "Blake Lively delivers an impressive lead performance, but 'The Rhythm Section' plods predictably through a story that could have used some flashier riffs."

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of C+ on an A+ to F scale. Meanwhile, PostTrak reported it received an average 2.5 out of 5 stars, with 35% of people saying they would definitely recommend it.

Reacting to the disappointing number, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson say in a statement to Deadline, "We are obviously disappointed with the box office, but proud of Reed and our movie and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Blake's performance."

The poor box office result is just another disaster happening to "The Rhythm Section". Lively injured her hand on the set in December 2017, delaying the production which only resumed in mid-2018. The injury also pushed back the movie's release from February 22, 2019 to November 22, 2019, before it was moved again to late January of this year.

"The Rhythm Section" poor performance aside, "Bad Boys for Life" still leads the domestic box office in its third week with approximately $17.7 million. It has grossed a total of $148 million domestically and $290.8 million worldwide.

Golden Globe-winning pic "1917" holds on to its second position with additional $9.7 million, followed by "Dolittle" which has added an estimated $7.7 million to its domestic tally. R-rated horror movie "Gretel & Hansel" debuts at No. 4 with an estimated $6.05 million, while "The Gentlemen" rounds out the top five with a little more than $6 million.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for Jan. 31-Feb. 02:

1. "Bad Boys for Life" - $17.7 million
2. "1917" - $9.7 million
3. "Dolittle" - $7.7 million
4. "Gretel & Hansel" - $6.05 million
5. "The Gentlemen" - $6.01 million
6. "Jumanji: The Next Level" - $6 million
7. "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" - $3.2 million
8. "The Turning (2020)" - $3.05 million
9. "Little Women (2019)" - $3 million
10. "The Rhythm Section" - $2.8 million