The Mongoose, the Liam Neeson action thriller we previewed on Wednesday, opened to about $480,000 over its first weekend, according to The Numbers. That figure is from 1,014 theaters, an average of $473 per theater, and it did not reach the top 10: tenth place on the weekend chart was $1.6 million.
The Numbers
- Opening weekend: about $480,000 from 1,014 theaters, listed by The Numbers as a wide release from Samuel Goldwyn Films.
- Per theater: $473.
- Reviews: 32% on Rotten Tomatoes from 19 reviews, an average of 4.8 out of 10, per Wikipedia. That snapshot is from the first days of release, so it can move.
- CinemaScore and Metacritic: we found neither.
- Budget: Wikipedia lists $20 million, but the source it cites is an article about an online leak, so we do not treat the number as confirmed.
For scale, Wicker opened a week earlier to about $5.75 million from 1,471 theaters, or $3,909 per theater. The Mongoose's per-theater average is about an eighth of that.
What Critics Said
The reviews we could find are few. Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com, according to Wikipedia, praised the action and the direction but faulted the screenplay's dialogue. Several critics compared the film to 1970s action movies such as Smokey and the Bandit, which fits its premise of a televised cross-country car chase led by a war veteran, as we described in our preview.
Nineteen reviews is a small sample. A score of 32% with this few reviews can shift a lot as more come in.
What We Do Not Know
- Whether the figure is final. A weekend figure this small is easily revised on Monday, and The Numbers lists no daily breakdown.
- How the release was structured. The Numbers calls it wide, but 1,014 theaters is a modest count next to this weekend's top films: Clayface played in 3,478.
- Where it goes next. We found no digital or streaming date.
Editorial Take: This is a very small opening for a Liam Neeson thriller, and the reviews so far do not suggest word of mouth will turn it around. But the number tells you more about how the film was released than about how it will be remembered. A film on about a thousand screens, next to Clayface's 3,478, was in a different tier of release. The useful question now is how it does on digital and streaming, where thrillers like it often find their viewers, and that is a question the box office cannot answer yet.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much did The Mongoose make opening weekend? About $480,000 from 1,014 theaters, per The Numbers.
What are The Mongoose reviews? 32% on Rotten Tomatoes from 19 reviews, per Wikipedia, as an early figure. It can change.
How much did The Mongoose cost? Wikipedia lists $20 million, citing a source that does not appear to support it. We treat it as unconfirmed.
Is The Mongoose streaming? We found no digital or streaming date.
Who is in The Mongoose? Liam Neeson, Marisa Tomei, Ving Rhames and Michael Chiklis, directed by Mark Vanselow.
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