Dave Bautista has become a well-established actor over the course of a 18 year acting career, and his chance to lead The Killer’s Game turned out to be a low point in one specific area. The former wrestler got his big break by joining the Marel Cinematic Universe as Drax, and that role gave him more opportunities to join other franchises and standalone projects. The 2024 action movie represented the continued evolution of his career, as it put him back in the lead role of an action movie, one that could launch a new franchise after The Killer’s Game‘s ending.

Bautista is no stranger to being part of franchises and projects that are successful overall. He’s been in franchises – Dune, Blade R unner 2049, and Bond, and he started his own franchise with My Spy. He’s also made an effort to work with Rian Johnson, M. Night Shyamalan, and other notable directors. In most cases, there is some reason to think of Bautista’s movies as successful and steps in the right direction toward further establishing him as a bankable leading man in Hollywood. Unfortunately, The Killer’s Game is a stumble in that regard.

The Killer’s Game’s Box Office Is The Lowest In Dave Bautista’s Career

The struggle for Dave Bautista comes from The Killer’s Game‘s box office. The film’s prospects to be a hit suffered after critical reviews were more negative than positive, continuing a recent trend for the actor. The Killer’s Game then had a subpar opening weekend. Its total earnings are less than $6 million after concluding its theatrical run. That total means The Killer’s Game has the lowest box office total for a Dave Bautista movie that received a wide release, as Lionsgate pushed the film out in over 2,500 theaters domestically but did not give it much of a run internationally.

Previously, Dave Bautista’s lowest mark at the box office for a movie that received a wide release was 2018’s Hotel Artemis, which coincidentally also starred his The Killer’s Game cast member Sofia Boutella. That film made over $6 million domestically and internationally, giving it a global total of over $13 million. While Bautista has been part of movies that made less than The Killer’s Game at the box office overall, those films had very limited releases – sometimes on less than 100 screens – and were not expected to do much business at the box office.

What The Killer’s Game’s Poor Box Office Means For Dave Bautista’s Future

The Actor Needs Some Upcoming Movies To Be Big

After experiencing so much success with his movies, The Killer’s Game‘s disappointing box office performance is not a common result for Bautista. It’s a stranger spot for him to be in now that he’s also without a future in his established franchises. He’s retired from playing Drax in the MCU, and Dune 2 included the death of his character. That leaves him in a spot where he’s searching for films that could be big hits and bolster his reputation as a great performer. The good news for him is he has plenty of upcoming projects that can help.

Bautista is not shying away from more action movies after The Killer’s Game, as he has Paul W.S. Anderson’s In The Lost Lands coming in 2025, his Jason Momoa team-up movie The Wrecking Crew, a reunion with his Stuber director for Trap House. Arguably the biggest upcoming movie for him is Aang: The Last Airbender, which sees him voice the villain in the Avatar: The Last Airbender sequel movie. The combination of these enticing action movies, joining an established IP, and other gestating projects, Bautisa should be just fine after The Killer’s Game‘s box office performance.

Director

J.J. Perry

Release Date

September 12, 2024

Writers

Jay Bonansinga , James Coyne , Simon Kinberg , Rand Ravich

Cast

Dave Bautista , Joe Flood , Sofia Boutella , Terry Crews , Pom Klementieff , Ben Kingsley , Scott Adkins , Andrew Galloway , Lucy Cork , Daniel Bernhardt , Hoon Lee , Marko Zaror , Raffaello Degruttola , George Somner , Scott Alexander Young , Shaina West , Antonia Desplat

Runtime

104 Minutes

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