‘A Working Man’ Still Trails ‘The Beekeeper’ By $100 Million at the Global Box Office
Despite having opened at pretty much the same level as last year’s The Beekeeper, action star Jason Statham‘s latest film, A Working Man, hasn’t had quite as successful a theatrical run. At least, not yet. The movie experienced steeper falls than The Beekeeper, which opened to an unusually enthusiastic audience response. Like A Working Man, that movie was directed by David Ayer; it served as his long-awaited return to form following the critical drubbing of Suicide Squad eight years prior. A Working Man was positioned as their big reunion, but for some reason, audiences appear to have decided to wait for it to hit home video.
With $33 million domestically and another $26 million from overseas markets, A Working Man has so far grossed a total of $59 million worldwide. It should pass the $60 million mark by Monday. At the same time in its run, The Beekeeper grossed nearly $10 million more. It ended its run with $66 million domestically and over $160 million worldwide, which means that A Working Man is still trailing that film by around $100 million. Incidentally, both movies are said to have cost $40 million to produce. They also scored similar audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes — both are “verified hot,” with The Beekeeper holding a 92% audience score, and A Working Man currently sitting at an 87% audience score.
There is, however, a huge difference in their official critics’ scores on the aggregator website. The Beekeeper holds a 71% RT rating, while A Working Man is languishing with a 51% score. In his review, Collider’s Nate Richard described it as “the kind of throwback to the action movies of the late-80s and early-90s that will have both your inner-action buff and your Dad hooting and hollering in the theater.” During its run, A Working Man has been able to overtake past Statham vehicles such as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Homefront, Expend4bles, The Transporter, and Parker.
Statham Has Rarely Missed in Recent Years
Statham has had quite a successful post-pandemic run, having headlined The Beekeeper, Meg 2: The Trench, and Wrath of Man. He also appeared in Fast X, which made over $700 million worldwide. Ayer, on the other hand, successfully escaped from director jail last year, and he’s all set to direct a movie with Brad Pitt next. They worked together previously on the acclaimed war film Fury. Statham will reprise his role in The Beekeeper 2, which is set to be directed by Timo Tjahjanto. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
