January is not, historically, a great month for new movies. Awards season films will often expand nationwide to help class up the joint, but as far as brand new offerings go, it can be tough sledding. One benefit is that we frequently get an off-the-wall action movie. After all, January is the month that gave us Liam Neeson’s unexpected action star turn in “Taken.” January 2024 will give one of our hardest-working modern action stars, Jason Statham, the chance to shine in the very silly-looking “The Beekeeper.” But can this movie’s bonkers premise lure enough moviegoers in to make it a bona fide box office hit?
Director David Ayer’s latest is eying a somewhat soft debut with “The Beekeeper” currently looking at an opening weekend in the $8 to $13 million range, per Box Office Pro. The film faces some direct competition as “The Book of Clarence” is also opening against it next weekend, while Paramount’s “Mean Girls” musical figures to win the weekend with a take of $20 million or more. That said, the MLK holiday weekend can be fruitful for the right movie and there is room for more than one film to succeed here.
Working in this movie’s favor is the fact that “The Beekeeper” is pretty much the only game in town for those who want to see a straight-up action movie. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is already fading away, and that’s more superhero fantasy anyhow. Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” is also probably going to have some crossover with the target demographic, but that movie hasn’t been doing particularly well up to this point. So yes, there are other movies in theaters but none that would prohibit this one from finding its audience.
“The Beekeeper” focuses on one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance. Not just your average beekeeper, he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers.” The cast also includes Emmy Raver-Lampman (“The Umbrella Academy”), Josh Hutcherson (“Five Nights at Freddy’s”), Bobby Naderi (“Bright”), Minnie Driver (“Good Will Hunting”), Phylicia Rashad (“Creed”), and Jeremy Irons (“House of Gucci”).
In terms of recent comparisons, it looks like this film could land in a similar range as Statham’s “Wrath of Man.” That movie opened to $8.3 million en route to $27.4 million domestically. What saved that one was a hefty $76.4 million international take, bringing its global total to $103.9 million. Directed by Guy Ritchie, the film carried a $40 million budget. As is always the case, success at the box office is relative. Without knowing the budget for “The Beekeeper” it’s difficult to say whether or not it’s set up for success with these prospective numbers. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like a tragically expensive movie.
The hope is that Ayer, whose previous credits include “Suicide Squad” and “Fury,” kept the budget at that level (or ideally lower) for this one. MGM is distributing the movie, which is key. Since MGM is now owned by Amazon, there isn’t quite as much pressure for the movie to purely profit in theaters as it will eventually make its way to Prime Video. At the same time, MGM will be encouraged to make more action flicks if this one performs well.
