It’s been a long-standing argument among film lovers: do critics matter? Well, according to one Paramount representative, they did for box office flop Baywatch.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution Megan Colligan noted, “The reviews really hurt the film, which scored great in test screenings. We were all surprised. It is a brand that maybe relied on a positive critical reaction more than we recognized. The cast could not have done more work in aggressively promoting Baywatch. Dwayne [Johnson] gave this 150 percent.”
In the past filmmakers and actors have accused critics of being out-of-touch and will often note that films and TV shows are made “for fans” and “not them”. Dwayne Johnson did this with Baywatch, saying audiences were loving the movie even if critics weren’t. Sadly that audience wasn’t large enough and Baywatch only earned $18 million on its debut weekend, which wasn’t enough to unseat Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 from it’s number two position after four weeks of release.
This is a rare low opening for Johnson, who scored big last year with PG-13 comedy Central Intelligence and action movie San Andreas in 2015. He’s got another big movie out this year, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which opens in a December that will be dominated by Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Despite the poor opening, Baywatch 2 is in development.
BAYWATCH follows devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) as he butts heads with a brash new recruit (Zac Efron). Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.
Baywatch sees Dwayne Johnson (Fast & Furious 7) leading a cast that also includes Zac Efron (Dirty Grandpa), Alexandra Daddario (San Andreas), Kelly Rohrbach (Two and a Half Men), Priyanka Chopra (Quantico), Jon Bass (Big Tim in Hollywood, FL), Hannibal Buress (Daddy’s Home), Belinda (The Cheetah Girls 2) and Ilfenesh Hadera (Billions).
