The box office can be a cruel judge, and this past weekend it delivered a verdict that's hard to ignore: Zachary Levi's new Western, Angel and the Badman, is struggling to find an audience. The film, which also stars Tommy Lee Jones and Neal McDonough, opened to a dismal $2 million domestically, landing at number 10 on the charts. But the most stinging comparison comes from a century-old movie that's currently enjoying a revival.
While Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning flopped with just $5.5 million against a $40 million budget, Angel and the Badman fared even worse. The Western's per-theater average over the weekend was a paltry $413 on Friday, $297 on Saturday, and $225 on Sunday. Meanwhile, F.W. Murnau's 1926 German Expressionist masterpiece Faust, which has been in re-release for over a month, pulled in a $524 per-theater average in its sixth weekend back. That's a tough pill to swallow for a new release with a recognizable cast.
The film, a remake of the 1947 John Wayne classic, has been met with poor reviews, currently sitting at a 23% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Distributed by Angel Studios, known for faith-based fare, the movie attempts to blend Western tropes with religious undertones, but it seems audiences aren't biting. The studio opened it in over 2,200 theaters, yet the numbers suggest a lack of interest that's hard to spin.
Levi, who charmed audiences as the title character in Chuck and later as Shazam in the DCEU, brings his everyman appeal to the role, but it's not enough. Jones, an icon of the genre, and McDonough, a familiar face from Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone and Tulsa King, add gravitas, but the film's execution seems to have missed the mark. Interestingly, both Jones and McDonough appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger, but that Marvel magic didn't carry over here.
For fans of the Western genre, there are plenty of better options out there. If you're looking for something to watch, check out our list of top-ranked Westerns on Rotten Tomatoes for a dose of quality. Or, if you're in the mood for a modern take, Netflix's Godless remains a standout that's often overlooked.
The success of Faust is a reminder that classic cinema still has a pull. Murnau's film, which peaked at a $3,143 per-theater average in mid-September, is proving that audiences crave timeless storytelling. It's a stark contrast to the struggles of Angel and the Badman, which seems to have lost the battle for attention.
As the box office continues to evolve, it's clear that star power alone isn't enough. With The Social Reckoning and Angel and the Badman both stumbling, studios might need to rethink their strategies. For now, the 1926 classic is having the last laugh, and that's a story worth telling.
