The Western genre has had a rough time at the box office lately. Just as Russell Crowe's latest film lost 1,500 theaters, another cowboy tale is facing a similar fate. Angel and the Badman, starring Zachary Levi and Neal McDonough, has been yanked from nearly 1,000 screens after only a week in release.
The movie, a remake of the 1947 John Wayne classic, opened in 2,263 theaters last weekend. Now, as it enters its second frame, it's down to just 1,270 locations—a steep drop of about 44%. That's a brutal contraction for any film, but especially for one that was hoping to ride the wave of a big theatrical push.
A Rocky Start for the Remake
Despite boasting a cast that includes Levi (known for Shazam!), the legendary Tommy Lee Jones, and Yellowstone alum McDonough, Angel and the Badman failed to capture audience interest. The film, which follows a wounded outlaw who finds redemption after being taken in by a kind family, has been panned by critics. It currently sits at a dismal 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, and its domestic gross is a meager $3 million.
That's a far cry from the success of other Westerns, and it's a particularly tough blow for Angel Studios, the niche distributor behind the film. Known for faith-based hits, Angel Studios has been trying to expand into more mainstream genre fare. Their recent action vehicle Runner, starring Alan Ritchson, also struggled, grossing around $15 million against a $45 million budget. As we've seen with Runner's quick digital release, these films often find their true audience at home.
Audience Approval May Not Be Enough
Interestingly, Angel and the Badman has been embraced by its target audience. The film holds a 79% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a stark contrast to the critics' take. That kind of word-of-mouth could help when the movie hits home video, but it hasn't been enough to keep it in theaters.
The theater loss is a familiar pattern for smaller distributors, who often rely on early box office momentum to sustain a run. Without it, screens are quickly reassigned to bigger, more profitable titles. This is exactly what happened to Pattinson's A24 thriller, which lost 625 theaters in its third weekend.
For now, fans of the cast or the original John Wayne film may want to catch Angel and the Badman while they still can, as its theatrical footprint is shrinking fast. But with a strong audience score, it's likely to find a second life on streaming and VOD, where many Angel Studios releases ultimately land.
Stay tuned for more updates on this and other box office stories.
