Labor Day Weekend braces for disappointment as ShowBiz Direct’s biopic Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid in the title role, witnessed a slow start at the box office. After garnering a negative critical reception, the political film raked in just over $500K in Thursday previews.
The biopic about the 40th President also stars Penelope Ann Miller as First Lady Nancy. Nick Searcy, Robert Davi, Lesley-Anne Down, C. Thomas Howell, Kevin Dillon, Mena Suvari, and Jon Voigh co-star in the film. Critics were harsh in their reviews, describing the film as a “cloying and glossy” depiction of a historic president.
Reagan has an 18% critic score on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The Los Angeles Times characterised the film as “a hollow portrait.” Meanwhile, Boston Globe tore into Dennis Quaid’s performance as the titular character, writing, “Made up to look like Reagan, Quaid instead resembles one of those puppets from Genesis’s “Land of Confusion” video; the movie does him no favors by showing footage of that video at one point.”
However, the audience rating was more favourable. Viewers were entertained by the film, giving it a near-perfect 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes. A viewer, Joel W, wrote, “Great movie! Exceeded my expectations. The movie Reagan deserved, the movie those who loved him deserve. Beautiful. Prepare for tears.”
The audience’s high praise for the film was not reflected in the box office performance. According to Deadline, Reagan, with a production budget of $25 million, had a disappointing start in Thursday previews, earning a subdued $525k. Projections for the Labor Day weekend are between $5 million and $6 million. The dismal numbers indicate Labor Day weekend will be slow this year.
Reagan opened in theaters on Aug 30, 2024.
Note: Box office numbers are based on estimates and various sources. Numbers have not been independently verified by Koimoi.
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