Colin Farrell TOTAL RECALL 2012 Box Office

Total Recall 2012 box office: soft debut. (Photo: Colin Farrell.) Starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel, Len Wiseman’s Total Recall 2012 reboot raked in a low-key $26 million this weekend, Aug. 3-5, as per studio estimates — trailing Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale’s The Dark Knight Rises by a wide margin. Reportedly budgeted at $125 million, not including marketing and distribution expenses (easily an extra $65-$70m), Total Recall‘s opening-weekend figures are not good news for Sony Pictures.

For comparison’s sake: Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman, directed by Rupert Sanders, and starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, and Sam Claflin, opened with $56 million in June. That’s approximately 115% above Total Recall‘s first-weekend gross, while SWATH cost only 35% more.

Now, like other recent domestic box-office disappointments / bombs such as Peter Berg’s Battleship and Disney’s John Carter — coincidentally, both starring Taylor Kitsch — Total Recall 2012 should be more enthusiastically received overseas despite the film’s lack of 3D "box-office appeal." Having already debuted in Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong, where it took in an estimated $6.2 million as per Box Office Mojo, Total Recall will be opening in dozens of other territories within the next month or so.

Colin Farrell box office

Of late, Colin Farrell hasn’t been very lucky at the global box office. Disney / DreamWorks’ Fright Night 2011 reboot, for instance, scored a paltry $41 million worldwide. And that’s a blockbuster figure compared to William Monahan’s London Boulevard ($4.64 million), Peter Weir’s The Way Back ($20.34 million), Neil Jordan’s Ondine ($1.34 million), Gavin O’Connor’s Pride & Glory ($31.14 million), Martin McDonagh’s generally well-received In Bruges ($33.39 million), and Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream ($22.65m).

In fact, apart from Seth Gordon’s ensemble comedy Horrible Bosses, which brought in $209.63 million (and which featured Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey, and others), no "Colin Farrell movie" has earned more than $50m (adjusted for inflation) at the worldwide box office since Miami Vice in 2006.

As discussed in this Colin Farrell box office article (written at the time Farrell was mentioned in connection with Arthur & Lancelot), only two Colin Farrell movies have earned more than $100 million in North America: the aforementioned Horrible Bosses, with $117.53 million, and Clark Johnson’s 2003 actioner S.W.A.T., with $116.93m. Mark Steven Johnson’s Daredevil and Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report also passed the $100m mark in the US/Canada, but those were Ben Affleck and Tom Cruise movies, respectively.

Overseas, the only Colin Farrell movies that scored more than $100m are Miami Vice with $100.34 million and, surprisingly, Oliver Stone’s domestic flop Alexander with $133 million in 2004. (Horrible Bosses, S.W.A.T., and Daredevil were bigger hits in the US/Canada.) Whether or not Total Recall will be Farrell’s third $100m+ international success depends on audiences’ interest in a 2D thriller.

Total Recall 2012 Rotten Tomatoes rating

Total Recall 2012 has a downright rotten 24% approval rating and a mediocre 4.9/10 average rating among Rotten Tomatoes‘ top critics. Besides the aforementioned Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel, Total Recall features Bryan Cranston, Bill Nighy, John Cho, Bokeem Woodbine, and Will Yun Lee. Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback were credited for the screenplay, "inspired" by Philip K. Dick’s story.

In addition to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Paul Verhoeven-directed Total Recall 1990 featured Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Ronny Cox, and Michael Ironside.

Total Recall 2012 Colin Farrell picture: Columbia Pictures.