Summary

• Jason Statham's newest movie, The Beekeeper, was a success both among critics and audiences, earning $134 million at the box office with a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
• In contrast, Statham's previous movie, Expend4bles, was a flop, only earning $51.1 million on a $100 million budget and receiving a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
• The success of The Beekeeper highlights the importance of focusing on Statham's character, as his brooding action hero charm played a significant role in the film's success. However, the failure of Expend4bles can be attributed to it being a part of a declining franchise with worsening quality.

Jason Statham's newest movie, new Statham action movie's Rotten Tomatoes was a 70% and, with a budget of $40 million, earned nearly $134 million at the box office.

Though Jason Staham has regained audiences' trust with The Beekeeper, it was not that long ago that a Jason Statham action movie became a complete and utter flop. In September 2023, the fourth movie in The Expendables franchise, Expend4bles, did very poorly. Expend4bles barely recouped half of its budget at the box office, earning $51.1 million on a $100 million expense. With a 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie was criticized for its lackluster special effects, its less-than-stellar action sequences, and its uninspired script. However, Expend4bles and The Beekeeper did have one commonality: Jason Statham.

The Beekeeper's Box Office Proves Expendables 4's Jason Statham Plan Was Correct

There are a few things to learn from Expend4bles box office flop and The Beekeeper's success four months later. First and foremost, Expend4bles did do something right by making Jason Statham its lead. Although the movie was a total failure for the franchise, what praise it did get had almost everything to do with the English actor. By focusing more on his character, Expend4bles found a bright spot in an otherwise bad movie. If other aspects of the film had been improved upon, there is a chance that Jason Statham could have carried the entire thing on his shoulders.

It is clear that Expend4bles got Statham's role right based on The Beekeeper's success. Unlike Expend4bles, The Beekeeper had able action, effects, and story, and in this way, Statham was able to really shine. Once again, most of The Beekeeper's success has to do with Statham's brooding action hero charm, so in this way, Expend4bles was on to something when it cast Statham as its new lead.

If the film had more of the quality of The Beekeeper, then it too could have been a box office success courtesy of Jason Statham.

Expendables 4 Flopped For The Opposite Reason The Beekeeper Has Succeeded

There is one big difference between Expend4bles and The Beekeeper that not even Jason Statham could have fixed. While The Beekeeper was the first of a new franchise, Expend4bles was the latest in a line of dying movies. Although The Expendables franchise started off strong, boasting star-studded casts and edgy action sequences, the movies got progressively worse over time. Therefore, Expend4bles was the last straw in an already dying franchise. Meanwhile, The Beekeeper enjoyed the luxury of being fresh enough that its mistakes could be overlooked. So, with Statham or not, these movies were on two very different roads.

• 	The Beekeeper	Expend4bles
  Release Date	2024-01-12	2023-09-22
  Director	David Ayer	Scott Waugh
  Cast	Bobby Naderi, Jeremy Irons, Jason Statham, Phylicia Rashad, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Minnie Driver, Josh Hutcherson	Levy Tran, Eddie Hall, Sheila Shah, Jacob Scipio, Randy Couture, Tony Jaa, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Iko Uwais, Andy Garcia
  Genres	Thriller, Action	Thriller, Action, Adventure