Andrew Garfield’s latest historical drama had little momentum at the North American box office, even after its studio tried to give the movie a familiar hook. The costly marketing pivot toward Robin Hood failed to turn curiosity into ticket sales, leaving the film with a rough opening weekend.
Andrew Garfield’s The Uprising opens with lackluster box office numbers
The Uprising starring Andrew Garfield collected just $3.25 million across 2,068 North American theaters, according to IndieWire. The result looks especially weak beside its $20 million production budget, with Focus Features also paying $11 million for domestic rights and additional money for promotion and distribution.
Focus Features tried to give the historical drama a broader commercial hook just before it reached theaters. Although the story is rooted in the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, the studio began marketing the film as an origin story for Robin Hood, even adding “The Rise of Robin Hood” to its promotional material. The approach grabbed attention, but the numbers show that the gamble did not bring audiences through the doors.
Andrew Garfield provides the project with a familiar face, having earned an Oscar nomination and led two Spider-Man movies. That did not translate into strong audience enthusiasm, however, with the film receiving a B- CinemaScore. Such a response can make a theatrical recovery through word of mouth an uphill battle. Focus Features could ultimately take a financial hit.
Robin Hood is having a rough go at the box office, and The Uprising is the latest casualty. A24’s The Death of Robin Hood faced a similar uphill battle earlier, taking in just around $9.5 million worldwide from a $20 million budget, including $5.4 million domestically.
The 2018 Robin Hood starring Taron Egerton also fell short, earning $86.5 million against its $100 million price tag. Even Ridley Scott’s 2010 take, despite collecting $321.7 million globally, struggled to justify its $237 million production cost.
That makes the glory days look even more distant. Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was a bona fide 1991 hit, turning a $60 million investment into $390.5 million worldwide.