Henry Cavill’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has been receiving mixed to positive reviews from critics, but the box office numbers appear very weak for the movie made on a $60 million budget. But fans are not blaming Cavill for having a bit of bad luck in theaters recently for the impending doom of the movie. While Guy Ritchie’s film needs a miracle to recoup its budget, the film couldn’t have made any more bad choices with its release.
Fans were confused as to why the film did not go for a worldwide theatrical release. Lionsgate picked up the domestic distribution rights for the film, while the film will reach international audiences through Prime Video Pay TV.
Fans Believe Poor Decisions Sealed The Fate of Henry Cavill’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Henry Cavill plays the role of Nazi-killing commando soldier, Major Gus March-Phillips, in Guy Ritchie‘s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. The World War II film, based on Damian Lewis’ book Churchill’s Secret Warriors, also stars Alan Ritchson, Eiza González, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Henry Golding. It explores a heavily fictionalized version of Operation Postmaster, the black-ops mission to disrupt the Nazi U-boat resupply operation.
While the film has largely positive reviews, it only collected $9 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office (via Box Office Mojo). The number appears very weak, considering the film’s massive budget of $60 million. According to Variety, the film was placed at number 4 in last weekend’s collection, indicating that it has some pretty decent competitors.
Guy Ritchie’s ‘THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE’ earned $9M on its domestic box office opening weekend.
The film had a $60M budget.
Read our review: https://t.co/daJeZlLEV1 pic.twitter.com/IfBVbiVSHz
— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) April 21, 2024
Fans criticized the film’s limited release in the United States. Lionsgate only picked up the U.S. rights, and the film lost its chance to play theatrically in most international territories due to Prime Video picking up its international rights. Fans believe that without a worldwide release, the film stands no chance in domestic theaters to recoup its production budget.
Fans also criticized the move to release the film alongside other hyped movies like A24’s Civil War and Universal’s Abigail, which predictably beat the Ritchie film in their weekend collections. Unlike Argylle, fans do not blame Cavill for the potential fate of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Cavill and the cast have done a pretty decent job performance-wise. Some of the fan reactions read:
Understandable when the damn film isn’t available in most places. No cinema release near me, no streaming. Can’t even buy the damn thing.
— Super Man of Steel (@ManofSteelDCU) April 21, 2024
Well this movie only release in the US while it’s not available anywhere outside US no wonder it’s ain’t getting money
— ET (@definitely21et) April 22, 2024
Releasing it ONLY in the US was the first mistake, the second one was schedule the release in the same month/week than Abigail.
— Chri in the Fortress of Solitude (@chriwankenobi) April 21, 2024
Releasing this and Abigail at the same time was a mistake.
— CommonSense (@politicalindept) April 21, 2024
Cuz nobody knows about this movie
— Sai Balne🦸 (@balne_sai) April 21, 2024
Kirsten Dunst‘s Civil War remained the top earner this weekend with $11.12 million. The vampire horror film, Abigail, fell short of its box office predictions and opened with $10.2 million at the box office. It has a much easier journey from here to recoup its $28 million budget. At no. 3, Godzilla x Kong: A New Empire continues to make more money, collecting $9.4 million.
Henry Cavill’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Has Been Receiving Positive Reviews
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has a 73% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes as of writing, with several reviewers giving the film a fresh rating. The audience score for the film stands at a whopping 93%, indicating that the film is a good entertainer.
M. N. Miller of FandomWire called the film “an impossibly glib, rip-roaring, and exciting action picture.” The review also added that one of the positive aspects of the film was “a cast with this much swashbuckling beefcake, including a Superman, a Reacher, and a G.I. Joe.” Peter Debruge of Variety shared that the film’s “terrific ensemble” worked in its favor. Collider‘s Maggie Lovitt felt that the film elevated Guy Ritchie’s brand of action to “a whole new level”.
The film was released on April 19, 2024. It is currently running successfully in theaters.
