While all eyes were on The Mandalorian and Grogu—which opened to nearly $100 million but still ranks as the weakest live-action Star Wars debut since Disney took over—a quieter disaster unfolded at the box office this weekend. Guy Ritchie's latest action thriller, In the Grey, starring Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza González, has already dropped out of the domestic top 10 after just one week. And the numbers are brutal.
The film grossed less than $3 million in its opening weekend—Ritchie's worst domestic debut in nearly two decades. By its first Thursday, it averaged a paltry $83 per theater and was outperformed by holdovers like Project Hail Mary and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, both released weeks earlier. So far, In the Grey has earned only about $5 million total. That's roughly one-eighth of what Ritchie and Cavill's 2015 spy romp The Man from U.N.C.L.E. made during its entire run.
It's a striking comparison. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was itself considered a box office disappointment—a stylish, James Bond-style caper that failed to launch the franchise it was clearly designed to start. But at least that film had charm, a killer soundtrack, and a cult following that's only grown over time. In the Grey, by contrast, seems to have landed with a thud, even with a star-studded cast and Ritchie's signature visual flair.
This marks Ritchie's fourth consecutive box office miss, following Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant, and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Despite his prolific output—he currently has three shows running simultaneously—the big-screen magic that once defined hits like Snatch and Sherlock Holmes appears to be fading. In the Grey is shaping up to be one of the biggest flops of its kind in recent memory, rivaling Ritchie's 2005 disaster Revolver.
For Cavill, the news is especially tough. The actor has long been fan-cast as the next James Bond, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. felt like a perfect audition—a suave, witty spy thriller that showcased his charisma. But that film's underperformance may have cost him a franchise, and now In the Grey is doing even worse. It's a reminder that even star power and a director's cult status can't guarantee box office gold.
Meanwhile, the horror film Obsession continues to defy expectations, grossing more in its second weekend than its first and heading toward $100 million worldwide on a budget under $1 million. And The Mandalorian and Grogu, despite its relatively soft opening, is still a massive event—especially given its lower production cost compared to Solo: A Star Wars Story, which famously flopped in 2018.
If you're looking for a spy thriller that actually delivers, check out Taylor Sheridan's 'Lioness' on Paramount+, or revisit the underrated 'Agent Carter' for a dose of Cold War intrigue. For now, In the Grey serves as a cautionary tale: even a Guy Ritchie-Henry Cavill reunion can't always recapture the magic of a near-miss like The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
