Expendables 4, the fourth and latest installment in the action adventure series, Expendables, is finally out in the theaters, but it seems to be miserably failing in attracting viewers.
Raking in merely $750,000 from its Thursday night preview shows, the film, also stylized as Expend4les, barely dodged in setting a new low for the franchise. Starring Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham, the film beat the second installment, 2012's The Expendables 2, that had earned $725,000 from previews, although that film ultimately turned out to be the second highest-grosser in the franchise with over $85 million, following the first film's $103 million, which had generated $870,000 in previews, back in 2010.
Currently screening across 3,518 locations, including 900 PLF screens, Expendables 4 is anticipated to land within the $15-17 million range for its opening weekend, beating the likes of A Haunting in Venice and The Nun 2. Lionsgate, the production powerhouse, will be looking for the sequel to outperform its predecessor, 2014’s The Expendables 3, which only secured $15.8 million in its debut weekend, despite franchise's best previews with $875,000. The film is expected to mimic the trajectory of Gerard Butler's this year's action film, Plane, also from Lionsgate, which earned $625,000 during its preview, ultimately opening to $10.2 million.
Expend4bles Draws Lowest Rotten Tomatoes Score for the Franchise
Adding to the commercial disappointment, Expendables 4 has also critically failed with 14% "rotten" score on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. While the second film had garnered the franchise's highest and only "certified fresh" score at 67%, the newest installment also falls well short of the original Expendables and Part 3, which managed to sit well with 41% and 31% on the Tomatometer. This sort of performance will surely raise questions for a fifth Expendables movie, as well as the franchise's future, especially since Stallone has already announced to part ways.
Directed by Scott Waugh, Expend4bles stars newcomers 50 Cent, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Andy García, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, and Levy Tran, while previous cast members Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture also return with Stallone and Statham.
Expend4bles is now playing in theaters.
Source: The Numbers