(Lionsgate)
American Ultra screenwriter Max Landis went on a Twitter rant over the movie bombing at the box office. Landis vented his frustration that the stoner comedy wasn’t a hit, even though it had “big stars” Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg as the leads.
As Gossip Cop reported over the weekend, American Ultra debuted in sixth place with a disappointing $5.5 million in ticket sales. After the figures came in, Landis tweeted, “American Ultra finished dead last at the box office, behind even Mission Impossible and Man From Uncle… American Ultra was also beaten by the critically reviled Hitman Agent 47 and Sinister, despite being a better reviewed film than either… which leads me to a bit of a conundrum: Why?”
Landis went on to question why the movie had a lackluster box office opening, even though it had “good ads, big stars, a fun idea, and honestly, it’s a good movie.” He added, “Certainly better, in the internet’s opinion, than other things released the same day. If you saw it, you probably didn’t hate it.”
The writer theorized that the reason American Ultra underperformed was because it’s an original idea without built-in name recognition among audiences. “American Ultra lost to a sequel, a sequel reboot, a biopic, a sequel and a reboot,” Landis pointed out. One thing he’s certain of is that the movie didn’t fail because of its quality. “It isn’t [bad],” Landis argued. “Divisive, sure. But better than others this week.”
Landis finished his Twitter rant by urging his followers to check out the film in theaters, saying, “Go see American Ultra, it’s really good.” For their part, Stewart and Eisenberg have not commented about the film’s disappointing box office performance, and, as Gossip Cop previously noted, are currently filming Woody Allen’s new movie. TELL US: What do you think of Landis ranting about American Ultra?
