Well, The Bikeriders did not become the summer sleeper Focus Features was hoping. While it was never expected to be a $100 million blockbuster, it managed just $29 million, which isn’t a total disaster but given the film’s $30 million price tag, it isn’t great, either.
The main lesson here is that adult-oriented dramas are still struggling at the box office, suggesting there is definitely a type of film people just won’t pay to see in cinemas, especially in summer (there is an opinion that The Bikeriders would have done better in the spring, I don’t agree because this type of film is struggling theatrically, full stop). But with a budget of, say, $15 million, The Bikeriders’ $29 million haul would look a little more respectable. Austin Butler’s moviestardom remains in question.
But what about his co-star, Jodie Comer? Well, she isn’t going to wear The Bikeriders’ box office because while she was out in front of the film alongside Butler, Focus wasn’t banking on her name to sell it. In fact, they pivoted from original distributor New Regency’s plan to center the marketing on Comer. Initially, The Bikeriders was going to be an awards season draw sold as Comer’s leap to prestige film, following her Emmy-winning role on Killing Eve and fresh of her Tony win for Prima Facie. But once New Regency sold to Focus, they decided to make The Bikeriders all about Austin Butler as the new face of American cinema. Honestly? I don’t think the movie would have made much more if it was sold on Comer’s name, as the timing of the release is the biggest culprit here, but we’ll never really know.
And Jodie Comer is moving on, at work on 28 Years Later, the third entry in Danny Boyle’s zombie franchise that started with 28 Days Later and continued with 28 Weeks Later. 28 Years Later brings back Boyle as director, with Alex Garland and Boyle once again collaborating on the script. Cillian Murphy is returning for the film (28 Days Later was his breakout role), and the film also stars Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell, and Erin Kellyman.
Here's Jodie working on the film along with some actors done up in zombie prosthetics. They’re made up to look naked—you can see modesty garments in these photos—which is solid zombie logic. After a while, clothes will either tear off or disintegrate, though it would be funny if there was a zombie still running around in a cheap suit made of synthetic fibers. 28 Days Later and its fast zombies was much copied in the 2000s and 2010s (World War Z, you are not forgiven!), but it’s been over 20 years since the first film came out, so we’re ripe for a nostalgic legacy sequel. Besides, I want to know what happens in that world. How far did the outbreak spread? And I’m glad to see Jodie moving onto the next thing, unbothered, as she should be.
