Another weekend, another box office flop. This past weekend, Sony’s “Charlie’s Angels” fizzled out in theaters with just $8.35 million grossed domestically against a reported $48 million budget, becoming the third film in as many weeks to tank in theaters.
At a time when there’s a stronger than ever push for women to be represented both in front of and behind the camera, Sony made the decision to bring “Charlie’s Angels” back to theaters for the first time in 16 years. Elizabeth Banks, who found box office success as director of “Pitch Perfect 2,” signed on to both direct and star as the Angels’ new Bosley. Kristen Stewart, having spent her post-“Twilight” career mostly on the indie scene, returned to mainstream films alongside Ella Balinska and Naomi Scott in the lead roles.
With pre-weekend tracking not exceeding $20 million, “Charlie’s Angels” wasn’t expected to be a major hit, but not even its target female demographic showed up. Here’s why we think that happened.
Also Read: 5 Reasons 'Doctor Sleep' Snoozed at the Box Office
1. Reboots are slumping
“Charlie’s Angels” is the latest in a series of attempts by major studios to revive major IP from a past generation, only to fail to generate any interest beyond a very small following.
Just this month, Paramount, Skydance, 20th Century Fox and Tencent took a big loss on the theatrical release of “Terminator: Dark Fate” — a $185 million reboot of the sci-fi franchise that first launched in 1984 and that has seen two other unsuccessful big-screen reboots since 2009. And earlier this month, Warner Bros.’ “The Shining” sequel “Doctor Sleep” dozed to a dismal $14 million opening despite critical praise and a modest $50 million budget.
“Charlie’s Angels” is a different film from the past two weekends’ box office flops, but they are all trying to appeal to nostalgia for projects that came out more than 25 years ago. The problem is that it has been so long since those original titles came out that younger moviegoers are not as familiar or as attached to them as older audiences, diminishing their ability to generate strong moviegoer turnout.
Also Read: 5 Reasons Why 'Terminator: Dark Fate' Misfired at the Box Office With $70 Million-Plus Loss
2. Mixed reviews put off potential moviegoers
With a smaller marketing campaign, “Charlie’s Angels” needed strong reviews to fuel widespread interest. Critical praise is no guarantee of box office success — just ask recent disappointment “Doctor Sleep” — but strong reviews could have built awareness among female moviegoers.
Instead, a 59% Rotten Tomatoes score sank the film’s hopes, and even many of the the positive reviews were not exactly glowing. The best praise was reserved for Stewart’s humorous performance and Banks’ moves to modernize the male gaze-oriented tone of the original “Charlie’s Angels” with a more feminist aura that gives the Angels more agency.
But even then, that girl power focus didn’t work with all critics, who also faulted the action scenes and the by-the-numbers plot. “The film is stuffed with noble intentions, starting with an early montage of anonymous girls and young women doing kickass things,” wrote Inkoo Kang in a review for Slate. “But Banks’ vision of women-empowerment heaven plays more like a checklist of topics from the feminist discourse of the past few years than a coherent movie, let alone a crowd-pleasing one.”
3. Girl Power alone isn’t enough
The phrase “get woke, go broke” has been thrown around recently following the demise of films like “Terminator: Dark Fate,” but it’s not necessarily true. Films like “Captain Marvel,” “Wonder Woman” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” have shown that audiences can respond to films with a strong feminist message — that just can’t be the only draw.
As Kang’s review suggested, a film that uses “girl power” as its core draw may not interest potential moviegoers if the marketing doesn’t also show that the film offers something else unique or compelling. Take “Frozen,” a film that has earned praise for its boldfaced message of female empowerment and sisterhood, but also had a fresh story and memorable songs as well. It’s safe to say that all of those things are major reasons why “Frozen II” is expected to open to over $100 million this coming weekend.
“Charlie’s Angels”‘ feminist take may have been a paradigm shift for the franchise, but movies can’t sell tickets on well-intentioned messages alone.
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4. No star power
McG’s two “Charlie’s Angels” films in 2000 and 2003 may have had stereotypes that Banks’ film sought to avoid, but there’s no denying they had star power. Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu were at the top of their popularity in the early 2000s, and original songs written for the film by Destiny’s Child and Pink helped raise the film’s awareness.
This iteration of “Angels” had none of this. While Kristen Stewart became a box office draw with the “Twilight” franchise, she’s shrugged off commercial projects and spent the seven years since that blockbuster series ended winning over critics with indies like “Clouds of Sils Maria.” Co-star Naomi Scott has only started to make a name for herself in films like “Power Rangers” and the “Aladdin” remake, and Ella Balinska hasn’t yet become a recognizable name outside of England.
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5. Whose Angels?
If 2019 audiences were too unfamiliar with “Terminator” to turn out for “Dark Fate,” the situation is even worse for “Charlie’s Angels” — and there was little sign that younger generations were clamoring for the series’ return.
With the exception of a short-lived TV reboot in 2011 that only lasted eight episodes, “Charlie’s Angels” has been left untouched in the 16 years since it was last in theaters, making it even more obscure project for audiences under 25. With no big names that teens could recognize, “Charlie’s Angels” likely felt too obscure to gain traction with Generation Z.
For what it’s worth, Banks doesn’t seem to be fazed by the disappointing box office returns for her film. She implored people to show support for her film in a pre-release interview with the Herald Sun, saying that “If this movie doesn’t make money it reinforces a stereotype in Hollywood that men don’t go see women do action movies.”
But in a tweet posted Monday, she shrugged off how the weekend played out and noted that she’s still proud of a film that gave her a chance to have total control over a mainstream film in a way that women, until recently, haven’t had a chance to have.
“Well, if you’re going to have a flop, make sure your name is on it at least 4x,” she quipped, noting her credits as director, writer, producer, and star on the film. “I’m proud of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and happy it’s in the world.”
'Terminator: Dark Fate,' 'Dark Phoenix' and 11 More Box Office Busts in 2019 (Photos)
There have been plenty of box office hits in 2019 from "Avengers: Endgame" to "Joker" to "Us." But as always, there are films that end up taking a dive once they hit theaters. Some have been failed attempts to revive flailing franchises. Others are poorly reviewed films that moviegoers barely notice on the cinema marquee. Either way, they've made this list.
Entertainment Studios"Replicas" $9.2 million grossed ($30 million budget) -- Keanu Reeves has had a great 2019. "John Wick: Chapter 3" was a hit, a viral video of his E3 appearance became a meme, and sequels to "Bill & Ted" and "The Matrix" are in his future. But back in January, he starred in this critically panned sci-fi tale of a neuroscientist who defies the law and scientific ethics to create clones of his dead family.
20th Century Fox"The Kid Who Would Be King" $32 million ($60 million budget) -- Unlike other films on this list, critics were pleasantly surprised by this family film about a British schoolboy who discovers that he is the reincarnation of King Arthur. But it fell victim to early-year box office doldrums as audiences ignored the critics' praises, turning "The Kid Who Would Be King" into one of several busts for 20th Century Fox in the final months before the Disney merger.
Aviron"Serenity" $14.3 million ($25 million budget) -- Both critics and audiences panned this thriller starring Anne Hathaway as a woman and her boat captain ex-husband (Matthew McConaughey), whom she offers to pay $10 million to murder her abusive new husband. "Serenity" didn't even gross that amount in North America with just $8.5 million to go with a D+ from CinemaScore polls.
Sony"Miss Bala" $15 million ($15 million budget) -- In 2011, "Miss Bala" became a hit at Cannes and was Mexico's selection for the Foreign Language Oscar. But this remake starring Gina Rodriguez was far less fortunate, barely making back its production budget.
Focus Features"Captive State" $8.7 million ($25 million budget) -- It's an interesting concept: a sci-fi allegory for U.S. imperialism, as an alien race conquers Earth and turns it into a vassal state. But between middling reviews and the pop culture dominance of "Captain Marvel," "Captive State" never went anywhere.
NEON"The Beach Bum" $4.4 million ($5 million budget) -- Another swing and a miss for Matthew McConaughey, though he did get praise from critics for this Harmony Korine stoner comedy that also stars Snoop Dogg, Zac Efron, Jonah Hill, of all people, and Jimmy Buffett.
Lionsgate"Hellboy" $44.6 million ($50 million budget) -- And now we get to the summer blockbuster bombs, starting with Lionsgate's failed attempt to revive "Hellboy" with David Harbour instead of Ron Perlman and loads of gore instead of Guillermo del Toro's guiding hand. The result was one of the most panned films of the year that quickly met its box office demise once "Avengers: Endgame" hit theaters two weeks after its release.
Sony"Men in Black: International" $253 million ($110 million budget) -- Sony may have taken a bit of a loss on this "MIB" spinoff, but any write-downs were quickly erased by the success of "Spider-Man: Far From Home" later in the summer. But this was a bust because it was a failed attempt to turn "MIB" into another "Jurassic World," replacing original cast members with hot new talent. While Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson were lauded for a good attempt, critics and audiences agreed that there's no replacing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
Disney/Fox"Dark Phoenix" $252 million ($200 million budget) -- 19 years of "X-Men" films at Fox ended with the biggest thud possible, as Simon Kinberg's panned take on Jean Grey's villainous turn became the most high-profile bomb of the summer. Simon Kinberg blamed himself for the bomb, which was identified as the main reason why Fox reported a $170 million operational loss in its first financial quarter under Disney ownership.
Warner Bros."The Kitchen" $15 million ($38 million budget) -- Warner Bros. is enjoying a great autumn thanks to "Joker" and "It: Chapter Two," but the end of summer was a rough period for them with two big bombs. The studio took a risk on Andrea Berloff's adaptation of "The Kitchen," a Vertigo graphic novel about mob wives who take over their dead husbands' business. But despite starring Melissa McCarthy, Elisabeth Moss and Tiffany Haddish, critics panned the film's script and audiences swiftly ignored it.
Warner Bros."The Goldfinch" $9.6 million ($45 million budget) -- Then, a month later, WB had another bust with an adaptation of Donna Tartt's Pulitzer-winning novel "The Goldfinch." But critics at the film's Toronto premiere weren't impressed and, like "The Kitchen," audiences took one look at reviews and moved on.
myCinema"Zeroville" $68,000 (Budget unknown) -- Over the past several years, James Franco has spent much of his time working on very obscure films that barely see any theatrical release. His latest, an adaptation of Steve Erickson's "Zeroville," became the biggest bomb of his career with just $8,900 grossed on its opening weekend. You read that right.
Paramount"Terminator: Dark Fate" $102 million and counting ($185 million budget) -- After three maligned sequels, the "Terminator" franchise was expected to get a boost from the return of original star Linda Hamilton and creator James Cameron as producer. But despite better reviews, "Dark Fate" barely did better than its predecessor, "Terminator: Genisys," as casual audiences have lost interest in the series while hardcore fans were put off by the shocking fate of the once destined savior of humanity, John Connor.
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