Is Holmes and Watson really that bad?
Apparently it is - since its Christmas Day release, critics and audiences alike have
been teaming up to tear the project apart, with even the rare good review still describing
considerable portions of the movie as "painful."
That's not how comedy is supposed to work.
Here's why Holmes and Watson bombed.
Whatever excitement there was for Holmes and Watson was mostly due to the presence of its
two lead actors, John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell.
The comedic duo first came together in a big way for the 2006, country-fried comedy Talladega
Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, a sendup of NASCAR and southern-style culture that
brought in over $162 million at the global box office and gifted pop culture with quotes
that have withstood the test of time.
“Shake and bake!”
“What does that do?
Does that blow your mind?
That.
Just.
Happened!”
That collaboration was followed in 2008 by the even more enduringly-beloved Step Brothers,
which earned over $128 million globally.
“Did we just become best friends?”
“YUP!”
Though Reilly and Ferrell haven't gotten any less funny over the years, their appeal as
a comedic duo managed to fail them with Holmes and Watson.
A week after its release, the movie had only earned around $24 million against an estimated
budget of at least $42 million - not exactly the sign of a successful reunion.
“Oh!
Amazing!”
Notoriously low review scores weren't the only bad press Holmes and Watson received
during its rollout.
The day after its theatrical release, Deadline reported that the people responsible for Holmes
and Watson had actually tried to prevent the movie from having a theatrical release at
all.
Instead, executives tried to pass it off to Netflix in an effort to contain the damage
- an offer which Netflix obviously refused.
Reporter Anthony D'Alessandro wrote:
"[...] test scores for Holmes & Watson were so bad that Sony tried unloading the movie
to Netflix, but the streamer wouldn't buy it."
It’s important to keep in mind that Netflix is the streaming platform responsible for
The Ridiculous 6 - a movie that has been consistent in its zero percentage rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
It has been noted that the marketing campaign for Holmes and Watson was curiously muted.
In fact, if not for the wickedly poor reception the movie received, it's possible you never
would have heard of it.
When a studio is confident it has a hit on its hands, like with Sony's own Spider-Man:
Into the Spider-Verse, it tends to get the word out early and promote the film as often
and widely as possible.
In the case of Holmes and Watson, Sony seemingly threw it into the crowded holiday mix, crossed
some fingers, and hoped no one would get too mad.
“Oooooh.”
“Are you quite sure this is a good idea?”
“This is fine!”
Holmes and Watson only managed to rake in enough money to earn a number seven spot at
the domestic box office during its opening weekend.
This placed the brand new release behind second weekend performances of Aquaman, Mary Poppins
Returns, and Bumblebee, as well as the third weekend runs of Spider-Verse and The Mule.
Holmes and Watson’s only saving grace would be positive word-of-mouth, but even that seems
scarce.
“Mr. Holmes, the empire is depending on you.”
Though fortunes have certainly turned for movies with less-than-impressive debuts - such
as the remarkable run of 2017's The Greatest Showman - Holmes and Watson seems to sorely
lack any crowd-pleasing qualities that could redeem itself.
In short, Holmes and Watson failed at the box office because it was a failure of a film.
Simply put, the so-called comedy couldn't ignite the same passionate response as previous
collaborations between its capable leads, resulting in an inability to attract audiences
in the middle of a crowded holiday season.
The broad critical consensus is that Holmes and Watson is just not worth seeing, even
for curiosity's sake.
At its best, Holmes and Watson is on the same level of quality as some of those “cut for
time” Saturday Night Live sketches - the kind that didn’t make it into the actual
live broadcast for good reason.
The detective work here is simple elementary - you’d be better off spending your money
on nachos.
“They got bottomless nachos at Bennigan’s.”
“Gah, a whole mess of nachos sounds good right now.”
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.