Ridley Scott’s ‘The Counselor’ Expected To Struggle At The Box Office

Director Ridley Scott’s R-rated drama The Counselor could have a little trouble finding an audience at the multiplex this weekend.

Although the movie sports an array of famous faces and talented players, the filmmaker’s latest cinematic endeavor might flop at the box office. According to the folks at The Hollywood Reporter, industry insiders predict the movie will only make around $10 million over the weekend. Given the talent, that’s not a lot.

Written by acclaimed author Cormac McCarthy (The Road, No Country For Old Men), the film tells the story of a lawyer (Michael Fassbender) who gets involved in the dangerous world of drug trafficking. Ridley Scott also managed to score Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt.

Although the flick probably won’t make a ton of money at the box office, Ridley Scott and company can rest easy knowing they only spent $25 million to bring the flick to life. The cast reportedly took a sizable cut in pay to participate in what THR calls a “vanity project.”

Ridley Scott told The New York Times that McCarthy’s script was particularly brutal. Given that the director has given the world a number of cringe-worthy films — the 2001 flick Hannibal immediately springs to mind — moviegoers should probably anticipate the worst.

“There’s a deep sense of stress that starts about halfway through, and you can’t put your finger on why. When you’re reading the script, it’s like there’s a series of cogs in a very clever clock. The cogs start to engage and — a good word is dread. And the dread sets in, and it stays there,” the filmmaker explained.

Ridley Scott added, “It’s relentless. I think he writes the truth. Because life is like that most of the time in some shape or form, whether it’s illness or the end of the world. Cormac’s a writer’s writer. You read his writing and think, I can do that, and then you sit down and try.”

One movie that’s currently poised to make a considerable amount of money this weekend is the Johnny Knoxville comedy Bad Grandpa. Box Office Mojo reports that the Jackass spin-off should make at least $25 million during the first three days in theaters.

This prediction is certainly good news for the boys and girls at Paramount Pictures, who reportedly dropped only $15 million on the endeavor. The last Jackass movie made approximately $50 million when it arrived in theaters back in 2010.

Are you planning to catch Ridley Scott’s The Counselor in theaters this weekend?

[Image via 20th Century Fox]