Bruce Willis’ A Good Day to Die Hard has picked up $8.3 million for its Thursday opening.
The movie in the short term has proven that fans of 1980s-era action film are still eagerly awaiting more of their favorite franchises.
Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock has predicted that Die Hard will take in $30 million over the extended Presidents Day holiday weekend, which extends Friday through Sunday.
In the meantime, other movies from 80s action stars haven’t fared as well. Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand took in just $6.3 million during its first weekend, and Sylvester Stallone’s new movie Bullet to the Head brought in just $4.5 million. Both of those movies debuted to poor reviews, which may explain their abysmal opening numbers.
All three men were involved in The Expendables and the Expendables 2, which both fared decently well at the US and International box offices.
With Schwarzenegger and Stallone enjoying their biggest successes more than 20 years ago, many of today’s college age and slightly older adults weren’t even born when their biggest successes were released. While the names of those stars are known, they simply don’t hold the same appeal they once did for younger audiences.
As the Hollywood Reporter notes:
“Although to fortysomething geeks they’re movie gods, to kids today, they’re ancient unknowns.”
Sylvester Stallone has reached some moderate success in recent years by rehashing his Rocky and Rambo movie franchise. However, despite his attempts, he hasn’t found the same success he once achieved.
To his credit, Bruce Willis has kept the Die Hard series fresh with high action, clever one-liners, and decent direction.
Are you still a fan of John McClane and his adventures? Will you be heading out to see A Good Day to Die Hard ?