Ryan Gosling’s film “First Man” isn’t exactly expected to dominate the box office this weekend.
The movie has been in the news a lot because it reportedly omits the iconic moment astronaut Neil Armstrong planted the American flag on the moon. I don’t know if that’s the reason the box office numbers are expected to be marginal or if people just aren’t interested. Either way, the numbers aren’t high. (RELATED: Watch The Awesome New Trailer For The Movie About Neil Armstrong’s Journey To The Moon)
The Hollywood Reporter reported the following Thursday:
Reuniting acclaimed filmmaker Damien Chazelle with his La La Land star Ryan Gosling, First Man is a visceral and personal retelling of Neil Armstrong’s journey to the moon in 1969. From Universal, the critically acclaimed film is tracking to debut in the $18 million-$20 million range when unfurling nationwide, on par with Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning film 2012 film, Argo.
Is $20 million terrible? No, it’s not terrible at all, but it’s not nearly as high as you’d expect for one with the level of hype “First Man” has had. Not even close.
The Hollywood Reporter even indicates it could open behind “Venom” and “A Star is Born.” Again, finishing third opening weekend for a film with Gosling about a famous event is kind of disappointing.
As I previously mentioned, I have no idea what the cause for the numbers is. As of this moment, I doubt anybody really does, but I think we can all agree we expected them to be higher.
Either way, you can still bet I’ll be checking this one out. I need to know what all the hysteria about the flag scene is about, and there’s only one way to find out.