It still has yet to be revealed what the studio spent on the film which, as always, is a huge factor in determining success. That said, it’s firmly in the mid-budget realm, and safe to assume it was somewhere in the $40 million range. That puts it well on track to turn a profit in its theatrical run, given that the film still seems to have gas in the tank. Amazon now owns MGM, so, in many cases, these movies don’t have the pressure of delivering profit in theaters as the endgame is to release them on Prime Video. But profit is always the name of the game. Whether or not it’s enough to warrant a sequel? We shall see.
If nothing else, it’s a blessing that Amazon put this movie in theaters instead of releasing it directly to Prime Video. Without it, the state of the box office would be insanely bleak — especially since the new “Mean Girls” movie was also supposed to go directly to Paramount+ before the studio decided to pivot. Even with those films, ticket sales in 2024 are pacing 10% behind this same point in 2023, with very little help on the horizon. Unless “Argylle” or “Madame Web” breakout much bigger than expected, we don’t have a surefire, blockbuster hit on the way until “Dune: Part Two” on March 1. For now, we can take solace in the fact that Ayer and Statham are doing their parts.
“The Beekeeper” is in theaters now.