Ryan Gosling is back at the box office, but he’s ditching his “Barbie” fur coat for a stuntman’s jumpsuit.
His latest movie, “The Fall Guy,” has arrived in theaters and made $3.15 million in Thursday previews at the box office.
The film is expected to open around $30 million this weekend, with some estimates as high as $35 million or $40 million. It will need to hit hard at the box office and carry good word-of-mouth, because it carries a budget of $130 million.
Gosling stars as seasoned stuntman Colt Seavers in Universal’s “The Fall Guy,” which is based on the ’80s TV show of the same name that starred Lee Majors as a stuntman turned bounty hunter. After a grisly accident, Colt retires from the stunt life and breaks up with his girlfriend and camera operator Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). However, when Jody makes her directorial debut starring world-famous actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) — for whom Colt stunt doubled — he returns to the stunt world and gets wrapped up in a murder mystery. Tom goes missing and Colt must find him, while performing death-defying stunts along the way.
David Leitch, a former stuntman himself, directs “The Fall Guy.” He previously helmed the action-heavy films “Bullet Train,” “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw,” “Atomic Blonde” and “Deadpool 2” and did the stunt work on dozens of films dating back to the ’90s. “The Fall Guy” also stars Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu and Teresa Palmer.
Sony and Screen Gems’ horror movie “Tarot” ($715,000 in previews) is also opening this weekend and looking to scare up between $5 million and $6 million. “Star Wars” forces its way back theaters in honor of May the Fourth, and “The Phantom Menace” is re-releasing for its 25th anniversary. It’s looking to make around $5 million this weekend.
