Henry Cavill’s New Action Movie Isn’t Getting the Box Office Hero’s Welcome It Deserves
Director Guy Ritchie‘s first theatrical film in two years, In the Grey, suffered a major blow in its domestic box-office debut. The action-thriller reunites Ritchie with former collaborators, actors Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza González. However, their combined star power didn’t seem to work for In the Grey, which has received mixed reviews from critics. The movie debuted outside the top five at the domestic box office, delivering a considerably lower gross than Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and The Covenant. The British filmmaker is consistently successful on streaming, but he hasn’t delivered a box-office hit in five years.
His last bona fide box-office hit was Wrath of Man, headlined by Jason Statham. The film grossed more than $100 million worldwide against a reported budget of $40 million. Ritchie and Statham followed the crime-thriller up with Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, which grossed just $6.5 million domestically against a reported budget of $50 million. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare concluded its domestic run with $20 million against a reported budget of $60 million, while The Covenant grossed just $17 million in North America against a reported budget of $50 million. Ritchie’s most recent film was the action-adventure Fountain of Youth, which was released on Apple TV. The movie is said to have cost a whopping $180 million to produce.
This Is Guy Ritchie’s Worst Domestic Box-Office Debut Since ‘RocknRolla’
In the Grey is the first of his two 2026 theatrical releases, with the second being October’s Wife & Dog. He recently completed production on Viva La Madness, starring Statham. He’s also working as an executive producer on the second seasons of Netflix’s The Gentlemen, Prime Video’s Young Sherlock, and Paramount+’s MobLand. In the Grey currently holds a 46% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with Collider’s Robert Brian Taylor describing the film as “a generic actioner that frustratingly forgets that watching action movies is supposed to be a fun endeavor.” Combined with a marketing push that left much to be desired, In the Grey grossed just $3 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office — Ritchie’s worst opening in 18 years. By comparison, Operation Fortune made $3.1 million in its first three days.
- Release Date
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May 15, 2026
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
- Producers
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Ivan Atkinson, John Friedberg, Dave Caplan, Guy Ritchie