Total Recall 2012 box office: disappointing. (Photo: Jessica Biel, Colin Farrell.) Reportedly budgeted at $125 million, not including marketing and distribution expenses (which could easily add another $65-$70m to the film’s total cost), the Len Wiseman-directed Total Recall 2012 reboot scored a none-too-impressive $9.2 million on Friday, as per Sony Pictures’ estimates.
As a new release aimed at teenagers and young adults, chances are that by Sunday evening the remake of the 1990 Paul Verhoeven / Arnold Schwarzenegger "classic" — just about any movie over a decade old is a classic nowadays — will fall way behind Christopher Nolan’s third Batman movie, which collected an estimated $10.4 million from 3,601 sites on Friday as per studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo.
Box office: Total Recall 2012 vs. The Dark Knight Rises
Starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel, the widely panned sci-fier / actioner was slightly behind The Dark Knight Rises. The gap, however, is about to widen.
Whereas TDKR is expected to gross $34-35 million over the weekend, Sony is expecting $25-$26 million for Total Recall. That’s certainly not good news for such an expensive movie.
For comparison’s sake: Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman, directed by Rupert Sanders, and starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Chris Hemsworth, opened with $56 million in June. That’s about 115% above Total Recall‘s expected first-weekend gross for a movie that cost only 35% more.
The silver lining: like other recent domestic box-office disappointments / bombs such as Peter Berg’s Battleship and Disney’s John Carter, Total Recall should be more enthusiastically received overseas — despite the Wiseman / Farrell film’s 3Dlessness. Having already debuted in a handful of Asian countries, Total Recall will be opening in dozens of markets in the next five weeks.
Total Recall Rotten Tomatoes rating
Total Recall has a rotten 24% approval rating and a mediocre 4.9/10 average rating among Rotten Tomatoes‘ top critics. In addition to Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel, Total Recall features Bryan Cranston, Bill Nighy, and John Cho. Besides Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 1990 original featured Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Ronny Cox, and Michael Ironside.
Total Recall 2012 Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel photo: Columbia Pictures.
