What’s up with everyone’s favorite “Die Hard” star, Bruce Willis, and his movies
lately?
Did you notice his small cameo in "The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part?"
Why isn’t he really starring in anything big lately?
Keep watching to find out!
For decades, Bruce Willis wasn't just a big-name actor.
He was one of the more reliable box office draws out there.
Just look at his stretch of film credits from 1994 to 2000, when he managed to star in six
separate films, five of them completely original projects, that all grossed north of $200 million
worldwide.
The fact that these productions varied greatly in genre, from science-fiction to thriller
to action blockbuster, was a testament to the appeal that Willis had.
Audiences were willing to follow him nearly everywhere, especially when he was reprising
his "Die Hard" role of John McClane.
His financial credibility continued into the 21st-century, when he began to play on people's
nostalgia for his 1980s works.
This fueled the box office success of productions like "Live Free or Die Hard."
Even into the 2010s, Willis was still headlining lucrative projects like "Looper" and "Red,"
giving him further hits roughly 25 years after his first leading man role in a movie, "Blind
Date."
All in all, the combined worldwide box office grosses of Willis' films has tallied well
over $6.7 billion.
This sum puts him ahead of other famous lead actors such as Liam Neeson, Hugh Jackman,
and Jennifer Lawrence, among many others.
If one were going by his box office prowess for decades, it would seem inconceivable that
Willis would ever be caught in the mire of direct-to-video cinema.
Even still, not every movie Willis has appeared in has become a box office hit.
Even the man responsible for launching the "Die Hard" movies is capable of appearing
in notorious duds like "North."
In 2013, Willis experienced two especially notable disappointments in the form of "Red
2" and "A Good Day to Die Hard."
The latter title wasn't exactly a wipeout, since it made $304.2 million worldwide on
a $92 million budget.
However, it hit a new box office low for the "Die Hard" saga in North America and also
made less than its two direct predecessors at the international box office.
"Red 2", meanwhile, made considerably less than its predecessor and failed to crack $150
million globally.
“Don’t look at me.
She’s your girlfriend.”
With these discouraging financial developments, a new franchise was stopped dead in its tracks.
The comparative failure of these two 2013 titles was especially distressing since, unlike
past Willis box office duds like "Surrogates," both of these tentpoles were part of supposedly
bulletproof franchises.
If Willis could no longer be relied on to draw in moviegoers within the confines of
sequels, that was a major problem.
The fact that these two projects were following up other then-recent Willis box office non-starters
like "Cop Out" only rubbed further salt in these wounds.
While not the sole reason he embraced DTV releases, the box office woes Willis experienced
in 2013 reflected his diminishing returns as a big-screen draw.
It was inevitable, then, that he'd look for alternative places to continue his leading
man career.
“It just happened.”
As late as the 2010s, Willis was also still showing up in theatrical releases like "The
Cold Light of Day" that didn't carry massive costs and weren't based on pre-existing properties.
Even "Red," though technically a DC Comics adaptation, was made in these confines thanks
to its $58 million budget.
However, his opportunities to appear in such projects began to dwindle as the 2010s went
on and major theatrical movie studios began to shift away from mid-budget projects.
Studios like Warner Bros. were now interested in launching long-term cinematic universes,
not the sort of one-off hits that Willis had consistently spun into gold in years past.
With fewer and fewer opportunities to show up in titles of the scale of "16 Blocks" in
theaters, it's easy to imagine that the age of direct to video cinema would suddenly look
a lot more appealing to Willis.
Yet, in 2015, Bruce Willis secured a very impressive acting gig: a supporting role in
the Woody Allen movie "Café Society."
Pairing up this performer with Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, Willis was set to play
Eisenberg's boss who becomes embroiled in a love triangle that involves Stewart's character.
Willis, it appeared, had secured another high-profile arthouse gig.
Unfortunately, a few days into principal photography, the "Café Society" production made the sudden
announcement that Willis would no longer be a part of the feature.
Rumors swirled that Willis had been let go after having difficulty memorizing his lines,
a problem that produced a strain for the other actors.
Leaving "Café Society" and his then-recent spat with Sylvester Stallone, which led to
his character getting written out of "The Expendables 3," speak to his difficulty in
the 2010s on maintaining consistent mainstream work.
Direct-to-video movies weren't just an easy paycheck, they were also a fallback now that
Willis was struggling to secure steady theatrical movie gigs.
“Tell me about it.”
When moviegoers sat down in theaters to see "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," few could've
imagined that this was one of the last theatrical releases Willis would appear in for years.
Except for a brief appearance in the 2015 Barry Levinson feature "Rock the Kasbah" and
a cameo in the 2017 M. Night Shyamalan thriller "Split," Willis would spend the next four
years exclusively embracing direct-to-video cinema.
Instead, 2015 titles like "Vice" and "Extraction" set the mold for the kind of features that
Willis would begin cranking out constantly in the years to come.
Many of this movies were action or thriller flicks, ones that featured Willis in a prominent
capacity on their posters that didn't reflect his screentime. 2016 would further cement
his commitment to this type of cinema while a movie from that year, "Precious Cargo,"
took the actor to new lows in terms of general critical reception.
While critics were jeering, Willis only got more involved with these direct-to-video projects
as the years went by.
“That’s too strange.”
A 2021 Vulture piece on producer Randall Emmett provided some clarity on why Bruce Willis
kept appearing in these direct-to-video movies.
Specifically, it's mentioned that many of the features Willis appeared in involved roles
that the actor spent only a handful of days or even a single afternoon filming.
The quick turnaround time, in theory, provided a win-win scenario for all.
Willis could get the work done quickly while the producers could have a big name to put
on the movie's poster.
This method of filming also allowed Willis to do many direct-to-video titles in a single
year.
After all, when it takes just a handful of days to take care of these performances, it
becomes a lot easier to cram multiple turns in one year.
Compare that to the lengthy shooting schedules of Willis' earlier films, which often limited
how many features Willis could headline in a single year.
On "Unbreakable," for example, M. Night M. Night Shyamalan would engage in meticulous
and time-consuming efforts to get each shot perfectly right.
The lengthy time spent on principal photography on such features is like something from a
different planet compared to the shooting schedules of Willis' direct-to-video titles.
Bruce Willis seldom does press or interviews for his direct to video movies.
Therefore, it's difficult to ask him questions regarding what drew him to projects like "Midnight
in the Switchgrass."
However, a MovieJawn interview with "Cosmic Sin" director Edward Blake does lend some
potential insight into why Willis has become enamored with direct-to-video cinema.
In this interview, Blake reflects on the circumstances that led to Willis appearing in "Cosmic Sin."
As it turns out, the duo had worked together before.
Blake had previously gotten a call to write an earlier movie called "Anti-Life," later
renamed "Breach."
The project's entire existence was predicated solely on Willis wanting to do a sci-fi movie.
While Willis has been able to exert creative control in his theatrical movie endeavors,
it's doubtful he could just will a sci-fi movie into existence in a matter of days like
this.
Plus, this actor has often been rumored or alleged to want greater creative control on
the projects he headlines, including productions ranging from "Moonlighting" to "Cop Out."
Within the confines of direct-to-video movies, Willis can finally get his wish and exert
considerably more influence as a creative participant.
“You having fun yet?”
“I’ll let you know when I start having fun.”
Part of why you've seen so many direct-to-video Bruce Willis movies lately isn't just because
the actor's desperate for money or loves the scripts he's handed.
Many of these projects exist solely because of contractual obligations.
In recent years, Willis has signed multiple contracts with production companies to appear
in a certain number of movies in a short period.
One of the earliest major instances of this came about in 2018 when Willis agreed to show
up in multiple Emmett/Furla movies.
A little over two years later, Willis would re-up his contract with this production outfit
for further feature-length endeavors, ensuring that Willis wasn't moving away from direct-to-video
territory anytime soon.
This means there's a mandatory nature to Willis' appearances in these features.
It's not inconceivable that his commitments to these multi-movie contracts are enough
to keep him tied up even when theatrical movie releases offer him a potential role.
With these deals in play, the long-term nature of Willis' commitment to direct-to-video action
films becomes a lot clearer.
Though direct-to-video movies have dominated Bruce Willis' post-2013 career, he still managed
to appear in a handful of theatrical movies.
In 2018, Willis returned to starring in big-screen action fare with the Eli Roth-directed remake
of "Death Wish."
The film's marketing leaned into the idea of this being Willis' first theatrical star
vehicle in a while by staging this project as a comeback for Willis.
"Death Wish" posters even flouting the tagline "Bruce is back."
Unfortunately, the eventual $48.5 million worldwide gross of "Death Wish" was far from
a rousing return to the glory days of Willis' box office prowess.
Meanwhile, in 2019, Willis appeared in a trio of theatrical releases, each varying greatly
in terms of screentime.
He was one of the lead characters of "Glass," a sequel to his 2000 film "Unbreakable."
That thriller grossed $246.9 million worldwide, making it the 12th biggest title Willis has
ever appeared in globally, a welcome departure from his box office blues in the 2010s.
Willis also appeared in a cameo as himself in "The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part" and
also had a supporting role in Edward Norton's directorial effort "Motherless Brooklyn,"
the latter of which sank at the box office.
Not all of these films were as big of moneymakers as "Armageddon"," but the very presence of
Willis in four theatrical films across 2018 and 2019 suggested that he hadn't entirely
abandoned big-screen entertainment.
As early as 2017, sites like Den of Geek were fascinated by how often Willis was going to
the well of direct-to-video for easy paychecks.
A few years and countless movies later, this career downturn has become downright notorious.
Everyone from The New York Times to pop culture writer Nathan Rabin has penned pieces exploring
the shortcomings of these movies.
This has often come with ruminations on why a man who used to headline gargantuan theatrical
hits is diving headfirst into these films.
Even with his retirement from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, he's still got
plenty of upcoming perfectly made for Redbox kiosks.
The IMDb page for Bruce Willis is littered with forthcoming features that will be sent
directly to the small screen.
Upcoming adventures include a pairing with Michael Rooker called "Corrective Measures,"
which will be one of the first original movies released on Tubi.
Also, "Pulp Fiction" fans can prepare for Willis and John Travolta to reunite in "Paradise
City."
His lengthy list of upcoming direct-to-video star vehicles even includes a second sequel
to the 2021 feature "Fortress."
The reasons leading to Willis' current career status are multifaceted and complicated, and
while fans might infer that his health issues are a factor in his recent roles, Willis himself
has remained silent on the matter.
Regardless, his direct-to-video movies will remain part of his legacy, alongside his blockbuster
turns.
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