One of the longest-gestating would-be blockbusters in recent memory has to be Eli Roth’s Borderlands. An adaptation of the hit video game franchise, it initially seemed like a promising property to adapt, and Roth’s movies – while often hit and miss – are never boring. What made it particularly interesting was that Roth was able to enlist Cate Blanchett to take on her first action heroine role as the film’s leading badass, Lilith. At the same time, Kevin Hart was also cast against type as the heroic Roland. Add to that Jamie Lee Curtis, fresh from her Oscar win, a big budget, and some colourful production design and it seemed like the movie couldn’t lose. Alas, the movie has been hit with delay after delay, with it initially shooting in 2021, before a lengthy series of reshoots which Deadpool’s Tim Miller apparently directed, while Roth went on to make Thanksgiving. With a budget in the $120 million-ish range, Borderlands is now seen as one of the summer’s biggest gambles. Indeed, the buzz surrounding its release has gotten quite grim, with many thinking the trailers are trying too hard to position this as a Guardians of the Galaxy-clone (complete with a seventies rock soundtrack). Now, Box Office Pro is predicting that the movie will only open in the $10-20 million range.
Granted, that’s an unusually large spread for them, and on our end, I think a $15 million finish seems more likely. However, that will be a pretty poor opening for a would-be franchise starter, and its going down as a box office flop seems to be inevitable at this point.
As for the rest of the weekend, Deadpool & Wolverine will have no trouble at all holding on to the top spot with a $40 million weekend. Number two should go to the Blake Lively adaptation, It Ends With Us, which should nab about $35 million (the book is very popular, and this likely is another Where the Crawdads Sing-sized hit).
Here are my (early) predictions:
Do you think Borderlands could potentially do better than we expect at the box office? Let us know in the comments!