Though it may not have been the box office hit some expected,The Fall Guyis taking off on streaming. The Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt-led action-comedy served as a movie adaptation of the ’80s TV show, revolving around a stuntman wrapped up in a murder conspiracy while being recruited to work on his ex-girlfriend’s directorial debut, hoping to win her back. Hailing fromDeadpool 2’s David Leitch,The Fall Guygarnered largely positive reviews from critics, but underperformed at the box office, grossing just over $180 million against its $125 million production budget.
Now,Deadlinereports thatThe Fall Guyhas set a major streaming record for Peacock. The action-comedy, which debuted on the platform over the Labor Day weekend, became Peacock’s biggest film debut, surpassing the record previously held by Christopher Nolan’sOppenheimer, while also being the second-most-watched film on all streaming in the U.S. that weekend, according to Nielsen data. Sources report that users who tuned into the Paris Olympics were a key factor in the movie’s success, being both the top film and the No. 2 title overall watched by said users behindLove Island USA. Additionally,The Fall Guy’s extended cut saw 92% of the movie’s streaming.
What The Fall Guy’s Streaming Success Means
Could A Sequel Get Off The Ground Thanks To This New Record?
While its box office disappointment came as somewhat of a surprise when compared to its reviews,The Fall Guy’s financial returnsweren’t entirely the fault of the movie.Spring 2024 saw something of a box office slumpfollowingDune: Part TwoandKung Fu Panda 4’s strong theatrical runs, withGhostbusters: Frozen Empirememorably underperforming, Guy Ritchie’sThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfarebombing and bothThe First OmenandMonkey Manonly proving to be modest successes. See howThe Fall Guycompared to other major Spring 2024 releases at the box office and on Rotten Tomatoes in the chart below:
92%
95%
71%
86%
42%
83%
54%
91%
81%
70%
89%
84%
85%
69%
93%
82%
18%
59%
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
80%
78%
50%
88%
21%
44%
$47.8 Million
The fact thatThe Fall Guy’s streaming success came amid the Paris Olympics is actually a really promising sign of the movie’s ongoing viewership numbers. Paired with the movie’s 86% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes,it’s clear that many viewers were either intrigued by the coupling of Blunt and Gosling in an action movie, or were keen on revisiting the movie after seeing it in theaters. For those who did turn to it for a first-time viewing, the 8% of viewers who didn’t watch the extended cut are likely to tune into the longer version, in addition to repeat viewers.
I’m Still Hoping For The Fall Guy 2 So Ryan Gosling & Emily Blunt’s Bad Franchise Luck Ends
The Fall Guy was meant to launch an action franchise for Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, and I’m hoping the sequel still happens to end their bad luck.
With the movie’s streaming success, the question now becomeshow likely aFall Guy 2is to happen. Prior to the first movie’s release,Gosling revealed that the script was already complete for the sequel, a surprising move given how big the budget was for the firstFall Guy. At the same time, the studio likely wasn’t expecting the box office slump the movie found itself in the midst of, potentially putting their faith in a follow-up too soon by tasking Drew Pearce to pen the script.
The Fall Guy Will Need To Keep Its Numbers Up For A Sequel
Streaming Numbers Are Just As Vital As The Box Office For Franchises
While this early streaming success is a good sign for the chances of a follow-up,The Fall Guy 2still has a long road ahead to get greenlit. One of the biggest things the movie will need to do to prove to Universal a sequel is viable is for these streaming numbers to remain consistent over the coming weeks. A decline in viewership is certainly normal for any streaming title, be it a new premiere or platform mainstay, though withan expensive production likeThe Fall Guy, how it performs in its first month will be more vital.
Peacock’s streaming numbers won’t be the only viewership figures Universal looks at forThe Fall Guy. The studio has a specific deal with Netflix in which they stream their movies on Peacock for four months in the pay-TV window before moving onto the other platform.The Super Mario Bros. Moviewas one of the more notable recent releases to do so, with the animated video game adaptation finding major success upon its Netflix premiere, bringing in 4.8 million hours viewed from 3.1 million views.
ShouldThe Fall Guyenjoy a similar success if it moves to another streaming platform beyond Peacock, it would be another promising sign of its sequel chances. Leitch, Gosling and Blunt clearly had a lot of fun making the 2024 action-comedy, and with a script already completed, the development process could be fast-tracked to production, and Universal could look for a more feasible release window forThe Fall Guy 2to avoid the same box office foibles of the original.
The Fall Guy
Cast
The Fall Guy is an action thriller from Bullet Train and Deadpool 2 director David Leitch. Ryan Gosling stars as a stuntman who is forced to find a missing movie star, investigate a conspiracy, and repair his relationship with the love of his life. The film was written by Drew Pearce and inspired by the 1980s TV series of the same name.
