Friday saw the release of Hollywood veteran Tom Cruise’s (pictured right) latest action film and sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which is set to re-energise the box office that has been plagued by lacklustre openings.
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The film is the sequel to the 2012 film Jack Reacher, which also had a soft box office debut before rising in later weeks to earn $80,1 million in the United States. The film earned a global haul of $218,3 million.
Box office expectations for the sequel in the United States have been set in the high teens, though it will no doubt benefit from an international release in over 40 major markets.
As expected, the sequel has a higher budget than the first film with a reported $96 million while the 2012 one had a reported $60 million. The higher budget was due to Jack Reacher’s box office success back in 2012.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back finds investigator Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) springing into action after the arrest of Susan Turner, played by Cobie Smulders, an army major accused of treason. Suspecting foul play, Reacher embarks on a mission to prove Turner’s innocence.
However, during his mission, Reacher fights with the law and must now go on the lam to uncover the truth behind Turner’s arrest. His investigation later reveals this may be part of a bigger conspiracy that involves the death of United States soldiers.
Cruise is one of the Hollywood box office heavy hitters having starred in many action films and most notably the Mission Impossible film series of which he is working on the sixth installment slated for 2018.
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What made Jack Reacher popular was a return to the 80’s and 90’s style of action movies which are grounded in realistic action pieces rather than special effects. Jack Reacher’s use of realistic action sequences and very little special effects found in most films today made it comparatively different from other films found today.
The same kind of style can be found in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.
As usual, Cruise is still at the top of his game at the age of 54 continuing to perform his own stunts and giving other younger cast members a run for their money.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back premise, plot and action is driven forward by the mystery behind Reacher trying to uncover Susan’s wrongful arrest. However, when making an action film, most Hollywood filmmakers make the mistake of not relying on action to tell the story.
For an action mystery film, action must be used to unravel the mystery, much like what 2009’s Sherlock Holmes did.
Films with older retired men have found much success in recent years, films such as the Taken and The Equaliser from 2014. The Equalizer star Denzel Washington has recently signed on for a sequel to the film, the first in his illustrious career.
Currently, the sequel to Jack Reacher has a 38% rating from critic website Rotten Tomatoes.
The other new release this weekend is another entry into the Madea franchise, Boo! A Madea Halloween.
The Madea film series stars producer, screenplay writer and actor Tyler Perry donning the costume of the bad talking old woman Madea known for her straight talk. The Madea franchise features films, plays, animated films and television programmes.
Madea as a film franchise has grossed an estimated $725 million globally from the eight films to date starting in 2005. Boo! A Madea Halloween is the ninth entry into the film series.
In Boo! A Madea Halloween, Madea winds up in the middle of mayhem when she spends a hilarious, haunted Halloween fending off killers, paranormal poltergeists, ghosts, ghouls, and zombies while keeping a watchful eye on a group of misbehaving teens.
The character is very popular among African Americans in the United States and has become part of pop culture which tackles social norms of the black community in a comedic way.
On average, each Madea outing earns about $120 million in global ticket receipts after opening either to a high teens number or early 20s number in the United States.
Look to this film to follow a similar trajectory.
Rounding off new releases is comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses that features the new Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot as part of the main cast.
The comedy is about a suburban couple played by Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis and comedian Isla Fisher who become embroiled in an international espionage plot when they discover that their seemingly perfect new neighbours are operatives. The covert operatives are played by Jon Hamm and Gadot.
Unfortunately, reviews for the film have not been kind, with a 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Again, when making a film that involves any form of action, let the action drive the film forward. In Keeping Up with the Joneses, the comedy was driving the plot, when it should have been vice-versa.
The film does have some funny moments but ultimately story counts which prevented the production’s unique premises from really being carried forward.
All in all, box office estimates have found none of the new releases to open above $20 million by tomorrow, which has now become a standard to be considered a hit.
Meanwhile, last weekend’s new release The Accountant which stars Batman actor Ben Affleck seems to be heading into a modest hit territory. As of Wednesday, the film had $31,89 million for a global haul of $35 million.
The Accountant tells the story of Christian Wolff, played by Affleck, a mathematics savant with more affinity for numbers than people. Using a small-town office as a cover, he makes his living as a freelance accountant for dangerous criminal organisations.
With Treasury agent, played by Jonathan Kimble Simmons, hot on his heels, Christian takes on a state-of-the-art robotics company as a legitimate client. As Wolff gets closer to the truth about a discrepancy that involves millions of dollars, the body count starts to rise.
Affleck is currently finding mainstream fame once more after his steller turn as the new Batman in this year’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
