With “Winter’s Tale” misfiring over the weekend, leading man Colin Farrell has suffered another box-office bummer.
The romantic fantasy from Warner Bros. is going to take in less than $10 million over the four-day Presidents Day weekend. That makes three movies in a row in which Farrell has played the leading man that have tanked.
Of course, it’s not all on Farrell. “Winter’s Tale,” written and directed by Akiva Goldsman, was savaged by the critics (14 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) and the complex time-travel tale had to be tricky to market.
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But last March’s FilmDistrict thriller “Dead Man Down” was dead on arrival, opening to $5.3 million and topping out at $10 million domestically at the box office.
And before that, “Seven Psychopaths” debuted with $4.1 million and wound up with $15 million domestically for CBS Films in 2012.
There was the disappointing “Total Recall” remake that year as well, and the 2011 horror dud “Fright Night” before that.
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The films in which he’s had a supporting role have done better.
“Saving Mr. Banks,” in which he plays the father of Emma Thompson‘s “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers character, has done pretty well at the box office. It’s taken in $82 million domestically and another $17 million overseas since opening in December for Disney.
The 37-year-old Irish actor’s biggest box-office score came in 2011’s “Horrible Bosses,” in which he had a secondary role as one of the title characters. That comedy featuring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston brought in $117 million domestically and another $92 million from overseas.
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His breakout role, a semi-comic turn in 2008’s “In Bruges” that earned him a Golden Globe, was an indie hit with $33 million worldwide.
Farrell’s box office mettle will next be put to the test in “Miss Julie,” an historical romance directed by Liv Ullman, in which he’ll star with Jessica Chastain. It’s due this year, but doesn’t have a release date yet. He’s also in “Solace,” a thriller in which he’ll star with Abbie Cornish and Anthony Hopkins, which is in post-production.
And he recently agreed to co-star with Rachel Weisz in the dystopian love story “The Lobster.”