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The Killer's Game

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The Killer's Game
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJ. J. Perry
Screenplay by
Based onThe Killer's Game
by Jay Bonansinga
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyFlavio Martínez Labiano
Edited bySimon Smith
Music byRoque Baños
Production
companies
  • Mad Chance Productions
  • Endurance Media
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • September 13, 2024 (2024-09-13)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[1]
Box office$5.9 million[2][3]

The Killer's Game is a 2024 American action comedy film directed by J. J. Perry and written by Rand Ravich and James Coyne, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Jay Bonansinga. The film stars Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley.

The Killer's Game was released in the United States by Lionsgate on September 13, 2024. It received negative reviews and was a box-office bomb.[4][5]

Plot

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At a dance performance in Budapest, hitman Joe Flood carries out an assassination, but is spotted by guards. Joe spots a fallen dancer, Maize, and helps get her out safely. She tries to thank him, but Joe starts to suffer a headache and leaves before Maize can help him.

Joe goes to get tests done because of his headache. He confides in his handler/close friend Zvi that he is questioning why he does what he does. He goes to a dance studio where Maize has classes to return something to her. She has taken interest in him after he saved her, so Maize gives him her number to take her up on a dinner offer. Joe initially considers throwing the number away, but he realizes he is indeed attracted to Maize, so he decides to go for it. Joe and Maize have dinner, where he lies to her about his profession. The two eventually start dating and get serious, with Joe falling in love with Maize. However, he gets the results of his tests back, and his physician, Dr. Kagan, tells him that he has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease,which will eventually cause his motor functions to shut down, with roughly three months to live.

Worried for Maize's future, Joe goes to Zvi to have a contract put out on him so that Maize can collect life insurance money off of Joe's death. Zvi refuses to do so since he cares so much for Joe, so Joe goes to a woman named Marianna Antoinette, another skilled assassin who now assigns contracts to any willing killer. She also has a personal grudge against Joe because he killed her father even though he mentored Joe. He tells Marianna to put a $2 million hit on him to go in effect at midnight. She agrees and sends the hit out. First she contacts seasoned hitman Lovedahl, but he turns it down because he thinks $2 million is too low. Marianna then contacts Korean assassin Goyang and his crew, plus two Hungarian brothers who kill together.

Joe meets with Maize to break up with her, making up an excuse to get her to hate him and make it easier on him for when he's dead. He goes home and gets drunk, leaving Maize an emotional voice message explaining his diagnosis and that he really does love her. Moments later, Dr. Kagan calls Joe to urgently inform him that his test results got mixed up with another patient and that he is not sick, just as Goyang and his gang arrive at Joe's apartment. They proceed to attack, with Joe killing all of them. The Hungarian brothers show up on their motorcycles, but Joe also manages to take them out. Joe calls Marianna to tell her that he has changed his mind and wants to cancel the contract, but she refuses and is now doubling the hit just to ensure that Joe dies.

Marianna proceeds to make good on her word and contacts every available hitman in Europe. Lovedahl joins the hunt now that the price has gone up, and he is forced to work with an aspiring British assassin, Money. Scottish brothers Angus and Rory Mackenzie, as well as British strippers Ginni and Tonya, a.k.a. the Party Girls, and a dancing assassin called Botas join the hunt. Joe goes to get help from Zvi and his wife, the latter who fixes his headaches and bad vision. He then goes with Zvi to a nearby castle to set up traps and lure the other assassins there. Lovedahl and Money track down Maize to her apartment after Joe has sent her a message warning her. When the two try to accost her, Maize incapacitates Money before Lovedahl takes her.

All of the assassins (except for Lovedahl) arrive to attack Joe, but he quickly takes them out. Lovedahl contacts Joe through Maize's phone to let him know that she has been taken, and he tells Joe where to meet him. When Joe arrives at the cemetery where Maize is, she escapes, takes the car, and runs into Lovedahl before taking Joe with her. A hit squad, led by Marianna's right hand man Max, shows up and tries to shoot at Joe, but Max claims he got a shot in. Lovedahl is not happy, and demands that Marianna up the contract to $6 million before leaving Money behind. On their way out, Joe confesses the nature of his actual job to Maize and that he was misdiagnosed, but he is also willing to leave the assassin life behind for Maize. She then tells Joe that she is pregnant and would not want to raise a child with a murderer. She then starts to pass out because one of Max's bullets hit her shoulder.

Joe brings Maize to a church for sanctuary and to tend to her wound. The priest shelters them, and after Maize wakes up, Joe proposes to her. The priest agrees to marry them there, but during the ceremony, Max and his goons show up, injuring the priest before Lovedahl shows up. Joe kills most of Max's goons before pinning Lovedahl under some scaffolding. Max corners Joe and tries to kill him, but Maize blows off Max's head first, to her horror. Joe takes Maize out of the church and leaves an injured but alive Lovedahl there.

Marianna attempts to flee, but Zvi remindes her that she broke the rules of the game by sending a mercenary squad during an open contract, thereby dishonoring the assassins’ agreement. Zvi executes Marianna, and Joe and Maize later get married for real with their friends in attendance. While Joe promises to make good on his word to retire from the assassin life, Maize considers how expensive raising a child will be, so she suggests not giving it up entirely.

Cast

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Production

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Early development

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Originally titled Godforsaken, Rand Ravich wrote his adaptation of Jay Bonansinga's novel, The Killer's Game, on spec in the mid-1990s and sold his draft to New Line Cinema in December 1995.[6][7] Intermedia would produce the film,[8] with Rupert Wainwright attached to direct. Wesley Snipes was courted to star by July 2002. Production was expected to begin that fall.[9] A month later, talks began with Mike van Diem to direct.[10] New Line offered the film to a wide array of directors, including John Woo, Wolfgang Petersen, Alex Proyas, and Renny Harlin, but failed to attract any to sign on.

In August 2004, rights transitioned to Paramount Pictures; Intermedia and Andrew Lazar were attached to produce while Simon Kinberg handled rewrites.[11] Michael Keaton was at one point attached to star, while Simon Crane and Pitof were considered to direct.[12] Development came to a standstill in 2006 when Intermedia closed down.[13]

Resurrection

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By December 2015, Broad Green Pictures was in talks to acquire the rights.[14] In February 2018, STXfilms took over, hiring D.J. Caruso to direct and Jason Statham to lead.[12] By April 2019, Statham had exited and was replaced by Dave Bautista.[15] Ice Cube joined the cast in June 2019.[13] In September, Morena Baccarin and Kris Wu joined the cast. Caruso and Peter Landesman rewrote the script ahead of a planned production start of December 2, 2019, in the Dominican Republic.[16][17]

Development quietly halted again until May 2023 when distribution rights shifted to Lionsgate, with J.J. Perry directing, and James Coyne hired to rewrite the script. Bautista and Ice Cube remained in the cast, with Sofia Boutella and Ben Kingsley added.[18][19] In July, Pom Klementieff, Scott Adkins, Drew McIntyre and Marko Zaror were among new additions to the cast.[20][21] In March 2024, it was announced Terry Crews was to star, replaced Ice Cube.[22]

Filming

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Principal photography began in July 2023 in Budapest,[23] with the film having been granted an interim agreement waiver to proceed amid the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[24]

Final writing credits were submitted in November 2023; screenplay credit was given to Ravich and Coyne and the offscreen additional literary material credit was attributed to Caruso, Nick Cassavetes, John Joseph Connolly, Michael Dowse, Cory Goodman, Kinberg, Landesman, Brian Rudnick, and Kurt Wimmer.[25]

Release

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The Killer's Game was released in the United States and Canada on September 13, 2024.[26] It is set to be released on VOD and digital platforms on October 4, 2024.[27][28][29]

Reception

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Box office

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As of September 30, 2024, The Killer's Game has grossed $5.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $478,413 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $5.9 million.[2][3]

In the United States and Canada, The Killer's Game was released alongside Speak No Evil and Am I Racist?, and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,623 theaters in its opening weekend.[30] The film made $1.06 million on its first day, including $300,000 from Thursday night previews.[31] It took in $2.6 million, finishing seventh for the weekend.[1]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 44 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "While it can be commended for refreshingly casting the reliable Dave Bautista in a romantic role, this otherwise tepid hitman comedy doesn't make many inventive moves on the board."[32] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 37 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[33] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 63% overall positive score, with 45% saying they would definitely recommend it.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 15, 2024). "'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Still The Ghost With The Most: Second Weekend At $51M+; 'The Killer's Game' Gets Whacked — Sunday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "The Killer's Game – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "The Killer's Game". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  4. ^ Romanowski, Przemek (September 16, 2024). "Beetlejuice sequel soars as 'The Killer's Game' flops at box office". Daily Wrap. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  5. ^ Lammers, Tim (September 14, 2024). "'The Killer's Game' Reviews: Critics Blast Dave Bautista Action Comedy". Forbes. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  6. ^ Myers, Scott (June 11, 2012). "The Definitive Spec Script Deals List: 1995". Medium. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  7. ^ Harris, Dana (October 11, 2000). "WB Taking Exit 135". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Fleming, Michael (October 15, 2002). "Topliners Goose Mooseport". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  9. ^ "In Brief: New York Festival Announces Opening and Closing Line-Up". The Guardian. July 24, 2002. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "Elston Gunn's Weekly Recap". Ain't It Cool News. August 27, 2002. Retrieved January 23, 2004.
  11. ^ "'Game' now in Par's crosshairs". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Kit, Borys (February 13, 2018). "Jason Statham, D.J. Caruso in Talks for Killer's Game (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 19, 2019). "Ice Cube Joins Covers, Negotiates To Team With Dave Bautista In The Killer's Game". Deadline. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  14. ^ "Broad Green in Talks to Acquire 'Killer's Game' Movie Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  15. ^ Sneider, Jeff (April 10, 2019). "Exclusive: Dave Bautista Attached to Star in STX Action-Thriller Killer's Game". Collider. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  16. ^ Kay, Jeremy (September 2, 2019). "Dave Bautista, Ice Cube Thriller The Killer's Game Gets Start Date, Lands at Capstone for TIFF Sales (Exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  17. ^ Maddison, Cooper (July 2, 2023). "Bautista's Action-Comedy Thriller The Killer's Game Review, Release Date, Cast, and More". Screen Daily. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  18. ^ Grobar, Matt; Wiseman, Andreas (May 15, 2023). "Dave Bautista Set For Lionsgate Action Comedy The Killer's Game; 'Day Shift's JJ Perry Directing, With Studio To Launch Sales At Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  19. ^ Grobar, Matt (May 19, 2023). "Ben Kingsley, Sofia Boutella Join Dave Bautista In Lionsgate Action Comedy The Killer's Game". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  20. ^ Kroll, Justin (July 10, 2023). "Ice Cube To Star Opposite Dave Bautista In Action-Comedy Killer's Game". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  21. ^ Jerva, John M (July 5, 2023). "Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror and More Enlist for Director JJ Perry's Actioner The Killer's Game with Dave Bautista!". Action Flix. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  22. ^ Galuppo, Mia (March 7, 2024). "Terry Crews Set for Dave Bautista Action-Comedy The Killer's Game". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Ice Cube Joins The Killer's Game, Set for Filming in Hungary". Budapest Reporter. July 17, 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  24. ^ Keates, Emma (July 20, 2023). "Here are all the movies and shows that have been granted waivers to film during the strike". Yahoo. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  25. ^ "The Killer's Game Writing Credits". WGA Directory. November 27, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  26. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 20, 2024). "Lionsgate Dates Dave Bautista & Mark Wahlberg Movies For Fall; Gerard Butler's 'Den Of Thieves: Pantera' For 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  27. ^ Northrup, Ryan (2024-10-01). "The Killer's Game VOD & Digital Release Date Revealed For Dave Bautista's Action-Comedy". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  28. ^ "THE KILLER'S GAME Digital Streaming Release Date Revealed". When To Stream. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  29. ^ Conor, Andrew (2024-09-15). "'The Killer's Game' VOD Release Date Revealed". Maxblizz. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  30. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (11 September 2024). "Box Office: 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' to Lead Again as 'Speak No Evil' Targets $10 Million". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  31. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (14 September 2024). "Box Office: 'Speak No Evil' Pipes in With $4.9 Million Opening Day, 'Beetlejuice 2' Still Shaking on Top". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  32. ^ "The Killer's Game". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  33. ^ "The Killer's Game". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
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