Charlie will be disappointed to hear that his Angels didn't make it to Box Office Heaven
this past weekend.
According to Deadline, the film suffered a dismal $8.6 million domestic opening, and
it only earned a paltry $27.9 million internationally across 26 markets.
Beyond that, the film had an especially poor opening in China, making just $7.8 million
in the lucrative overseas territory.
So what went wrong, exactly?
Charlie's Angels seemed to have a whole lot going for it.
The film stars indie darling Kristen Stewart, up-and-comer Ella Balinska, Aladdin star Naomi
Scott, and the always welcome Elizabeth Banks, who also directed the caper.
Even the formidable presence of Patrick Stewart wasn't quite enough to help this film.
Well, according to Deadline, the lousy box office was at least partially due to issues
with the script, which reportedly underwent numerous changes during development and production.
There were apparently certain pain points in the storyline that just couldn't be fixed…even
with lots of rewrites.
And it sounds like this clunker of a script was a major turn-off to some A-list stars.
As Deadline reports,
"The script for Charlie’s Angels didn’t really attract top talent [like] Jennifer
Lawrence, Emma Stone and Margot Robbie (a trio that would have potentially jazzed up
business)."
Instead, Sony brass chose two relative fresh faces to star alongside Stewart.
However, Balinska and Scott might have been a little too fresh-faced for general audiences.
The fact that they aren't quite household names turned out to be a detriment rather
than a drawing point.
As Deadline reports, Stewart herself may have caused the film to flop:
"Stewart, who is hysterical in the movie and even needed more funny bits, is in a different
place in her career professionally, publicly, and privately.
It’s unfair to think that she could deliver her Twilight fans now."
After years of appearing in arthouse films and relatively low-key projects, it's indeed
unlikely that Stewart would be able to bring huge crowds to a film like Charlie's Angels,
especially when she's paired with new faces like Balinska and Scott.
But the film's grim box office can't be blamed entirely on Stewart and her fellow Angels.
The film's action sequences were admittedly lackluster…a fact that seemed clear even
in the film's trailers.
And here's another question: Did anyone even want a new Charlie's Angels movie?
According to Deadline:
"After [Elizabeth Banks] expressed interest...in taking on a Charlie’s Angels reboot with
a modern feminist spin, there was no question in Sony’s mind that the project should move
forward."
Sure, it's been quite a few years since Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, and Drew Barrymore twerked
across movie screens in their own Charlie's Angels films, but that doesn't mean we were
all champing at the bit for a brand-new installment.
In the wake of Charlie's Angels' less-than-stellar performance, don't be surprised to see a bunch
of think pieces claiming that female-led movies don't bring folks to the box office.
That clearly isn't true.
After all, Hustlers was a bonafide hit, and it premiered to great returns in September
2019.
Based on a true story, the film involves a bunch of New York City dancers who bilk Wall
Street bankers out of their fortunes.
Fronted by an all-female cast and created by a predominantly female creative team, Hustlers
earned an impressive $33 million on its domestic opening weekend, marking the largest opening
of Jennifer Lopez's storied acting career.
There's absolutely no doubt that movies created by women and starring women can and will succeed
at the box office.
In the end, the issues with Charlie's Angels may have been rooted solely in its script
and production, but the middling 58 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes certainly didn't
help matters.
Still, it's disappointing that the film is financially floundering.
Stars like Stewart and Banks will undoubtedly survive this career blip, and hopefully Balinska
and Scott will soon be given meatier roles to sink their teeth into.
And who knows?
Perhaps movie execs will take a cue from Charlie's Angels and realize that some franchises just
don't need to be rebooted, remade, or otherwise freshened up.
"Mints."
"Let's just stop the touching.
Some of these blows up."
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