Jason Stathamhas proven himself to be one of the most consistently bankable action stars of today, which makes the performance of his most recent film that much more surprising. With so many great films finding consistent viewership,Statham found himself the king of Prime Videoearlier this year, andhe continues to dominate a corner of the box office with strong and dependable smaller films.Still, the actor released a new movie recently, and the box office result was actually a bit lower than expected.
Statham’s long list of movies about certain professionshighlight the actor’s working-class sensibilities and appeal. He really broke through in 2002’sThe Transporter, and has remained a go-to action star ever since. The actor became an important part of several franchises, including bothThe Expendablesand theFast & Furiousmovies, all while remaining bankable on his own merits. Still, it seems that the ceiling for his appeal, at least with his latest film, might be just a bit less than what the studio behind it might have hoped for.
After The Beekeeper, A Working Man Seemed Like Another Big Jason Statham Hit
The Two Movies Have A Lot In Common
Jason Statham’s latest,A Working Man, has a great deal in common withThe Beekeeper, his surprising hit from last year.Both films were directed by David Ayer, and saw experienced killers leaving their violent pasts behind themto pursue more conventional lives. The basic premise was similar, and the action for the newest film looked just as strong, butA Working Manfailed to live up to the worldwide total ofThe Beekeeper, which grossed an excellent $162.6 million.
Both movies cost around $40 million, butA Working Mancould only earn $99.1 million.This gave Statham a win for the year for a while, but it is certainly a drop fromThe Beekeeper’s success. Reception likely played into this, as theRotten Tomatoesscore forA Working Manwas much lower with critics, scoring a 48% Rotten rating againstThe Beekeeper’s 71%. Audience scores, however, did not seem to vary nearly as much, withA Working Manat 87% andBeekeeperat 92%.
Jason Statham Has Been Reliable At The Box Office For Years
The Actor Has Shown Consistent Success Both In And Out Of Franchises
Statham has remained consistently bankable throughout the years, both as part of an ensemble and in leading his own films.His addition to theFast & Furiousfranchise bolstered the success ofFurious 7,which, also owing to other factors, including Paul Walker’s death, became the highest-grossing entry in the series, making $1.5 billion. WhileFast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shawwas a bigger disappointment, all of this spoke to the importance of scale in Statham films.
Statham has been in some very high-grossing movies, but the actor works best in smaller ones.Wrath of Manwas budgeted at $40 million and was able to earn $104 million despite releasing during the COVID-19 pandemic.Mechanic: Resurrectionwas also made for $40 million, and grossed $125.8 million.There emerges a clear pattern then, that a modestly budgeted Statham film will consistently chart around this area, allowing the studios to build manageable but dependable expectations.
Jason Statham Should Still Have Two New Action Franchises On His Hands
Both The Beekeeper And A Working Man Could Spawn Multiple Sequels
There have been a fewupdates onThe Beekeeper 2, and this sequel is a wise choice for Amazon MGM to pursue.With a new director and the same writer, the upcoming film is set to begin filming soon, and could even make more money than the first one. However, so long as the budget is not increased significantly, trends with Statham’s films show that the movie is likely to earn around $100-125 million worldwide. If executed well, there are opportunities to increase audiences, but this range should be the expectation.
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The Meg(2018)
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As consistent characters and settings for Statham,A Working Manshould also follow this pattern, and would do well to make a sequel.Audience reception to the film was much stronger than it was for critics, and Statham still has great appeal. UsingA Working Man’s Levon Cade as a lead in a new action franchise could be effective, and theJohn Wickfranchisehas shown the potential for box office success growth within series like these. Commissioning moreWorking Manfilms would be an effective path forward.
A Working Mandid not quite live up to the success of his last film, butaudiences still enjoyed it, and its performance was decent.Statham is a very special kind of action star, and his appeal seems to have remained consistent and strong throughout his long career. It is certain that more great action movies are in the future for the star soon, and it would be wise to attempt to grow off of the success ofA Working Manby building a franchise around it.
