Runner Runner Earns $31.1 Million at Worldwide Box Office in Opening Weekend
Despite early estimates that Runner Runner would earn $11 million in its opening weekend, the Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake film earned just $7.6 million at the U.S. box office. The New Regency film, which cost $30 million to make, also brought in $23.5 million from overseas for a worldwide total of $31.1 million.
“Runner, Runner did not take off the ground earning a sour $7.6 million. This was kind of surprising since the marketing for the Brad Furman film was there,” said . “It was easy for the film to get lost since it was directly competing for the same audience as Warner Bros.' tentpole Gravity this weekend. It also didn't help that the film received a ‘C’ CinemaScore from viewers. Despite its low opening weekend, the film is faring better overseas.”
Weekend Box Office
| Place | Film | This Week’s Gross | Total Gross | Week # | # of Theaters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gravity | $55.5 million | $55.5 million | 1 | 3,575 |
| 2 | Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 | $21.5 million | $60.6 million | 2 | 4,001 |
| 3 | Runner Runner | $7.6 million | $7.6 million | 1 | 3,026 |
| 4 | Prisoners | $5.7 million | $5.7 million | 3 | 3,236 |
| 5 | Rush | $4,408,280 | $18.1 million | 3 | 2,308 |
| 6 | Don Jon | $4.16 million | $16.1 million | 2 | 2,422 |
| 7 | Baggage Claim | $4.125 million | $15.2 million | 2 | 2,030 |
| 8 | Insidious: Chapter 2 | $3.876 million | $74.7 million | 4 | 2,607 |
| 9 | Pulling Strings | $2.5 million | $2.5 million | 1 | 387 |
| 10 | Enough Said | $2.15 million | $5.4 million | 3 | 437 |
For those unfamiliar with Runner Runner, which is rated R for language and some sexual content, here’s the storyline according to 20th Century Fox:
“Princeton grad student Richie, believing he's been swindled, travels to Costa Rica to confront online gambling tycoon Ivan Block. Richie is seduced by Block's promise of immense wealth, until he learns the disturbing truth about his benefactor. When the FBI tries to coerce Richie to help bring down Block, Richie faces his biggest gamble ever: attempting to outmaneuver the two forces closing in on him.”
The motion picture also stars Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie, Bob Gunton, and Sam Palladio. Runner Runner was written by the screenwriters of the famed poker film Rounders, Brian Koppelman and David Levien, and is directed by Brad Furman, who is perhaps best known for steering The Lincoln Lawyer.
PokerNews, which had a chance to see the film at the world premiere on Sept.18 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, offered a review of the film on opening day. Likewise, some in the poker world were willing to give the film a chance.
Looking forward to seeing #RunnerRunner tomorrow, produced by @LeoDiCaprio starring @jtimberlake & @BenAffleck
— Phil Ivey (@philivey)
The reviews for Runner Runner have been mixed in both the cinema and poker industry, though they tend to sway toward the negative side. On , while on . You can check out PokerNews' own review by clicking here.
Here are some reactions from the poker Twitterverse:
Just watched #RunnerRunner as I suspected the poker content is the first 10mins. It's an okay movie.
— Gillian Epp (@GillEpp)
Runner Runner was meh but was better than expected after reading reviews.
— Greg Merson (@GregMerson)
Amazingly ironic that Runner Runner is approximately 8% on Rotten Tomatoes.
— matt salsberg (@msalsberg)
Did you see Runner Runner this weekend? If so, let us know what you thought in the comments section below.
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