Guy Ritchie has been in the film business for nearly 30-years. The long time filmmaker came onto the scene with Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and became an overnight success once that film was released. The comedy heist film represented a new generation of films that focus on violence and criminals. Ritchie has a similar style to Quentin Tarantino, though the 55-year-old has a unique distinction from his films that separates him from Tarantino and the rest of the directors in Hollywood.
There’s been several clunkers in Ritchie’s filmography, but the veteran is one of the best names in Tinseltown. Ritchie has especially been firing on all cylinders since the lackluster release of the live-action Aladdin. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Covenant, The Gentlemen, and Wrath of Man are really good films. Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre was just okay. With that said, it’s strange that Guy Ritchie’s latest string of films have been box office bombs.
His last three films have been generally favored by critics, and the success of The Gentlemen on Netflix showcase that audiences do enjoy his distinct style. Has the audience suddenly fallen out of love with Guy Ritchie films?
The Dangers Of Doing Rated-R Films
There’s a reason that studios strongly prefer doing PG-13 films, especially for big budget blockbusters. Only one film has crossed the billion dollar mark: Joker. Oppenheimer came extremely close last year by banking $954.3 million, but there’s an extremely small section R-rated films that have made over $500 million. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Covenant, and Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre all range from $50 million to $60 million in terms of production cost, so while none of those features needed to make Joker or Oppenheimer level of money, it’s still surprising at how low the returns have been.
In general, fans are okay with violence. Though Tarantino has never made a film over $500 million, his films typically make over $100 million. Both Deadpool movies have made over $200 million. But for every R-rated film that’s made over $100 million, there’s more that have flopped spectacularly. Horror tends to get away with being Rated-R because they’re typically low budget. However, Rated-R films are have a certain demographic. It’s not just the adults, but anyone who can stomach that the grim and mature aspects that come with said film. Going R is always going to be risky, and in the case of Guy Ritchie, that risk hasn’t paid off in his last three projects.
Guy Ritchie Hasn’t Successfully Built His Brand
Guy Ritchie is a talented filmmaker with a diverse portfolio. In fact, he has two films that have made it over the $500 million mark: Aladdin and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
The surprise flop of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare proves that the rating is quite unpredictable when it comes to box office success. The film had plenty of advertisement and even features a couple of stars leading the charge. Plus, with The Gentlemen doing so well on Netflix, one who think that Guy Ritchie was a hot director right now. The problem is that Guy Ritchie hasn’t particularly built his brand like Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, or Martin Scorsese. This sounds crazy because he is a notable name in the mainstream, but his original films never had the same box office impact as the three mentioned above.
The Gentlemen and Wrath of Man are the only two original films that made over $100 million. When Richie goes mainstream, he fails more often than not. Aladdin and the Sherlock Holmes franchises were massive successes, but Swept Away, RocknRolla, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Revolver, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. were flops. The general consensus is that Ritchie is a good filmmaker, but his style isn’t distinct enough to garner widespread attention like the three names above have.
The Possible Problems With Guy Ritchie’s Last Three Films
It’s unclear why audiences haven’t been interested in Ritchie’s last two films. Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre didn’t particularly get great reviews, but the advertising was certainly a big issue for that film because there was barely any. In fact, many people didn’t know that Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre even came out until it was sent to digital.
The Covenant was better. The film actually received good reviews, but the marketing was the bare minimum that a studio could do for a film. The Covenant wasn’t a traditional Guy Ritchie film, but given that military theme films tend to do well more often than not, The Covenant should’ve done better. Other than The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Evil Dead Rise, April wasn’t a big month for huge blockbusters. Then again, March was dominated with blockbuster, so audiences had a healthy set of films in theaters even if The Covenant came out a month.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is genuinely a head scratcher. The film had good advertisement. The cast was appealing and the critical and audiences reviews of rotten tomatoes are certainly positive. Plus, there was nothing standing in that film’s way of getting the number one spot. Cavill hasn’t particularly had a good year as Argylle flopped hard. In fact, Cavill hasn’t a box office hit since Mission Impossible: Fallout, and he wasn’t the lead. Everyone else in the supporting cast doesn’t have a strong box office track record. It just seems that audiences weren’t simply interested. There was no controversy that would’ve stopped audiences from checking out the film. It’s a shame as The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a good time at the theaters.
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