‘Hot Pursuit’ Flops At Box Office, Falling Far Below Expectations
Hot Pursuit flopped at the box office the first weekend it was released, according to CNN. The bad reviews and only a C+ CinemaScore from audiences before the movie was released contributed to it not getting the attendance that was expected.
Yahoo! Movies reported that analysts thought the movie might have brought in closer to $18 million, but it brought in only $13.3 million from 3,004 theaters. Hot Pursuit, starring Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, placed No. 2.
Hot Pursuit failed to make a significant mark, which cost much more to make than it brought in. It was reported that the movie cost $35 million to produce, but ticket sales fell far below that amount.
The movie attracted an older and primarily female audience. Audiences were 62 percent female and 38 percent males. The audience included 82 percent over the age of 25.
Hot Pursuit is an action comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara. Reese plays the Texas police officer Rose Cooper who grew up tagging along with her policeman father. After an accident, Cooper gets assigned to a dead-end job at the police station. One task was to protect a drug dealer and his wife Daniella Riva played by Sofia Vergara, who are going to testify against a drug lord. Most of the movie focuses on the dynamics between the two women, as they are chased throughout Texas by gunmen and dirty policemen. The two women engage in conversations they humiliate each other. They end up bonding and having an appreciation for each other.
This is not the first time Reese Witherspoon has had a bad opening for a comedy. How Do You Know made only$7.5 million at the box office when it first opened. Therefore, Hot Pursuit is her second-worst nationwide opening for a Witherspoon comedy.
Sofia Vergara has been the top-paid actress on television for the last three years, according to Forbes. Just last week, she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her role in Modern Family.
While these two women have been successful on other projects, Hot Pursuit is not as successful, according to critics. The movie received only two out of five stars.
Rentrak’s Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said critics were very tough on Hot Pursuit, and it is very puzzling why the movie didn’t do better. So, what went wrong? ABC News summed it up.
“You’ll laugh a few times, but Hot Pursuit fails to be the smart comedy it should’ve been, especially given that it stars an Oscar-winning actress and the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated star of one of TV’s top comedies. This movie feels beneath them.”
[Image via Getty Images]
