While R&B singer Usher has had no shortage of hits over his 20+ year career, his box office track record – like so many successful singers before him – has certainly sung a different tune.
With commercial and critical shams like ‘In the Mix’ and ‘The Faculty’ to his credit, fans of the stageblazer admittedly had higher hopes for his most recent cinematic effort, ‘Hands of Stone’ (August 26), which saw him portray legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.
Monday night saw those hopes dashed, however, when final figures for the film’s premiere weekend revealed some disheartening numbers. Get the details inside:
‘Hands of Stone’ (toplined by Robert De Niro & Edgar Ramirez), which grossed $1.7 million over its opening weekend, failed to even meet its original gross projection of $2-3 million. Finishing 16th at the box office, the film – a critical favorite – was unsuccessful at recreating said acclaim commercially.
In its defense, the film did have a limited opening to 810 theaters and will not be granted a wide release until Wednesday, August 31st. The plan, according to Deadline.com, is to “hook moviegoers heading into Labor Day.” Read more on the risky strategy below:
With Sony/Screen Gems’ Don’t Breathe and Lionsgate’s Mechanic: Resurrection cornering Hispanic and African American crowds this weekend, Hands Of Stone will have the advantage of catering to those demographics during the Labor Day weekend stretch. Hands Of Stone‘s release pattern is an innovative one, and responds to adults’ moviegoing habits in a Netflix-Hulu universe that can sideline that crowd at home. (source)
Will the unconventional rollout pay off? Only time will tell. However, at the rate things are going, it’s not looking so good.