OK, it’s probably not cause and effect, but it’s definitely karma. Liam Neeson’s new flick, Run All Night, just posted the worst opening of any of the Irish actor’s action movies. And it’s the first Neeson movie to premier after his January public assertion that “There’s too many [expletive] guns out there, especially in America.” [1]
Now, it could be that audiences are tiring of Neeson’s seemingly endless string of seemingly interchangeable offerings. (Personal theory: a decade ago Neeson filmed a single, epic 26-hr movie full of him issuing grim warnings, beating up greasy thugs and shooting everything in sight. They’ve been cutting it into different features ever since.) But when your livelihood depends on stylized gunplay – and lots of it – making arrogant pronouncements about guns sure seems like tempting fate.
According to The Hollywood Reporter [2], the $50 million Run All Night “opened to $11 million from 3,171 theaters, Neeson’s worst showing since he became a leading older action star (The Next Three Days launched to $6.5 million in 2012, but he only had a supporting role).”
Taken 3, the movie Neeson was flacking in Dubai when he showed off his “very particular set of skills” (i.e. stunning hypocrisy), pulled down $39.2 million its first weekend.