‘White House Down’: Roland Emmerich’s Thriller Struggles At The Box Office

Things aren’t looking too good for Roland Emmerich’s White House Down.

Although the $150 million flick sports two huge box office draws, the film is poised to land in either third or fourth place once the weekend wraps up.

According to Variety, the White House-oriented thriller is expected to land somewhere in the range of $27 million and $30 million. Judging from the film’s performance on Thursday evening and Friday, it could be a while before the film recoup’s its budget.

However, there’s still hope for Roland Emmerich and White House Down. Action moves tend to do very well in foreign markets, so the flick could make up the difference there.

Overseas business certainly helped Tommy Wirkola’s Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters find success. Although the flick made around $55 million in the US, it generated a healthy $170 million in foreign markets. This ultimately prompted Paramount Pictures to move forward with a sequel.

If the film can’t find an audience overseas, then White House Down could be one of the lowest grossing films of Emmerich’s career. When the numbers are adjusted for inflation, his 1992 action flick Universal Soldier is Emmerich’s worst performer with $69 million in receipts. This doesn’t include Anonymous, which only opened in a few theaters.

White House Down tells the story of a Secret Service agent (Channing Tatum) who is charged with saving the President of the United States (Jamie Foxx) when the White House is suddenly overrun with bad guys. Judging from the trailer, action junkies will have plenty to cheer about. According to a Sony executive, every drop of the film’s budget can be seen on-screen.

“If you see the movie, you will see the money on the screen. And compared to other summer fare and budgets, it very reasonable given the film,” the anonymous exec told Deadline.

The Inquisitr previously reported that The Heat is on-track to score the second place spot at the box office this weekend. The film is expected to make around $40 million when all is said and done.

Do you plan to check out White House Down in theaters this weekend? Are you surprised the movie isn’t performing better at the box office?