Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Bruce Willis film Precious Cargo flops embarrassingly after taking just £86 at the UK box office

The film was not reviewed well...

Jack Shepherd
Wednesday 20 July 2016 08:04 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Over the last few weeks, a few trends have emerged at the box office. Notably, a number of blockbusters are falling flat, including the likes of The Legend of Tarzan, Gods of Egypt, and The Huntsman.

There have also been an increasing amount of films starring A-List actors that have made minute sums. For instance, Emma Watson's The Colony made just £47 earlier this month, Keanu Reeves’ Exposed made a mere £88 in March, while Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino’s thriller Misconduct grossed less than £100 in June.

Joining their ranks is Bruce Willis, whose crime thriller, Precious Cargo, took just £86 over its first weekend in jut five cinemas.

According to The Guardian, it played once each day in Reel chain cinemas based at Widnes, Hull, Fareham, Burnley and York.

So, why are all these films flopping? Most of them have had devastatingly bad reviews, Precious Cargo currently holding a rare 0% rating on aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, The Independent saying of it: “Precious Cargo is so far-fetched, so camp and so crudely written that you suspect it must be intended as a spoof.”

If that wasn’t enough to put you off, there’s also the fact most of these releases have been released straight to video-on-demand services, meaning people can watch from the comfort of their own homes without leaving for the cinema.

Unfortunately, Bruce Willis’s next film, Marauders, hasn’t done the actor any favours either, having received middling reviews in the US and without a UK release date. As one Youtuber notes: "Someone needs to tell Bruce that he's actually allowed to turn down roles."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in