Having been dubbed “The King of the B-Movie,” a title he’s spent over a decade earning, it was a little surprising to hear Gerard Butler admit it was equally humiliated and disappointed anointed as the reigning monarch of the mid-budget racer and shooter.
In the Scotsman’s own words, he would rather be “the Tom Hanks of action movies‘, which makes it all the more ironic that Butler’s adrenaline-pumping new escape plane is being beaten at the box office by bland drama A man named Ottowhich of course stars none other than America’s Dad himself.
The presence of two-time Oscar winner and wholesome icon Hanks alone is more than enough to tempt audiences to part with their hard-earned cash and the remake of the 2015 Swedish film A man named Ove is on track for a solid $12 million opening weekend for the MLK holiday weekend.
Level, despite scoring some of the best reviews Butler has seen in years, is poised to finish below the Hanks-led feature with a pretty decent $10 million bow. It’s one thing to say you want to emulate one of the most popular and beloved stars of modern times, but it’s quite another to actually go ahead and do it.
The parallels between Butler and Hanks aren’t what you’d call obvious, but we know who has the bigger draw in terms of ticket sales, and unfortunately it’s not 300 veteran. Not yet though seeing that there is still time to make his wish come true.
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