Shia LaBeouf once headlined the “Transformers” franchise. He starred in three massive, epic movies that were grossing either $1 billion or just under it, and then he decided to go off the rails. His career followed suit, culminating in the laughable flop of his latest, “Man Down.”
While LaBeouf went off the deep end and became a full-blown psychopath, the more level-headed Mark Wahlberg took over the “Transformers” movies and they’ve been doing great; the last one was the highest grossing Film that year. Meanwhile, LaBeouf’s latest project, an indie war drama with pertinent themes entitled “Man Down,” has been a financial disaster at the UK box office.
The film made £7 in the UK
“Man Down” has sold a single ticket to some guy at a cinema in Burnley, and that is all. That one ticket amassed a total UK gross of £7. It sounds like slightly more when it’s presented to the producers in Hollywood as $8.70, but still.
The UK isn’t a huge market, but it’s a bigger market than £7. To put that into perspective, “Spectre” made £40 million in its first weekend in the UK alone. Now, granted, that’s a James Bond movie, but there’s definitely a lot of middle ground between £7 and £40 million that would make a UK theatrical release for “Man Down” at all worthwhile. Perhaps UK audiences are worried it’s associated with the Greg Davies sitcom and that’s what’s scaring them off.
Expectations for the UK gross of “Man Down” weren’t particularly high. The producers were thinking realistically. It’s a little indie film, a sombre drama, and it was only opening in a handful of cinemas across the country and it was released digitally to VOD services on the same day as its theatrical release, so they didn’t exactly think they had the next “Transformers” on their hands.
But they expected a little bit more than £7.
It’s been performing a tad better in the US
“Man Down” has been doing better business Stateside. Its story and themes are more America-centric, to be fair. In its limited release in the United States, it grossed around $454,490. That’s pretty good for an indie film.
“Man Down” is about a war vet (LaBeouf) who comes back from a few tours in Afghanistan with PTSD and goes looking for his missing son. It sounds pretty good, actually. LaBeouf’s co-stars in the movie are Jai Courtney (ugh), Kate Mara (okay, the cast is picking up a bit), and Gary Oldman (now it’s a must-see).
