The Fall Guy Matches Free Guy's Opening Weekend As The Guy Cinematic Universe Grows
Guys rock! Who doesn't love guys? Whether they're free or falling, guys really have a lot to offer. The latest guy movie on the scene is "The Fall Guy," starring Ryan Gosling as the titular guy: a professional stunt guy who accidentally becomes targeted by a bunch of criminal guys. The film was directed by David Leitch, who has previously directed other guys in movies like "John Wick," "Deadpool 2," and "Bullet Train."
After grossing $10.4 million on its opening day, including $3.15 million from Thursday previews, "The Fall Guy" is now on track to gross around $28 million in its opening weekend (per Variety). That puts it on par with another recent guy movie, "Free Guy," which starred Ryan Gosling's fellow Ryan (and fellow guy), Ryan Reynolds. "Free Guy" grossed $28.3 million upon its release in 2021 and went on to make $331 million worldwide — a modest success against its $100-125 million budget.
"The Fall Guy" didn't cost too much more than that (according to the money guys, its budget was around $130-150 million), but it's already being viewed as more of a financial disappointment than "Free Guy," which was being graded on the curve of a pandemic-afflicted box office. After a rough year so far, theaters are in desperate need of some big summer hits. It doesn't look like "The Fall Guy" will deliver on that front, but don't write it off just yet. Between an 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- score from audiences polled by the guys at CinemaScore, positive word of mouth could help its hold in the weeks to come.
(Note: "The Fall Guy" is not actually part of the "Free Guy" cinematic universe, but perhaps that could change in the future. Like when those spider-guys were retroactively added to the Marvel Guy Universe.)
Challengers, Tarot, and the return of The Phantom Menace
Speaking of spider-guys, Jacob Batalon — who played the MGU Spider-Guy's "guy in the chair" — is tangling with the supernatural in this week's other new wide release. Horror movie "Tarot" isn't just battling dark spirits but bad reviews, with an 8% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Nonetheless, its estimated $6.25 million opening weekend (per Deadline) is a good enough start for a movie with a very lean $8 million budget, and slightly above earlier projections of a $5 million to $6 million debut.
The arrival of "The Fall Guy" has knocked Luca Guadagnino's "Challengers" down to second place on the box office charts, but it's still firmly in the game. The tennis love triangle drama grossed $2.5 million on Friday and is on track for a second weekend total of $8.7 million — a drop of just 42%. Though its budget is a little steep at $55 million, "Challengers" is benefiting from rave reviews, the presence of Zendaya as one of its three leads, and plenty of social media buzz (TikTok really loves a certain churros scene).
Meanwhile, "Star Wars" fans are celebrating May the 4th — a.k.a. Star Wars Day — with the 25th anniversary return of "The Phantom Menace" in theaters. The first movie in George Lucas' prequel trilogy grossed $2.4 million on Friday and is on track to come in third this weekend. People just love those lightsaber guys.