Keanu Reeves' 'Replicas' Is the First Box Office Bomb of 2019

Not even a full two calendar weeks into 2019 and we already have an official first box office bomb [...]

By Nicole Drum

Not even a full two calendar weeks into 2019 and we already have an official first box office bomb for 2019 -- Keanu Reeves' Replicas.

Box office tracking authority Exhibitor Relations Co. tweeted the news on Sunday morning, noting that the sci-fi thriller from Entertainment Studios wasn't simply performing behind films such as the hugely successful Aquaman (which sat at the top of the box office for three straight weeks). Replicas is flat-out bombing, bringing in a paltry $2.5 million total across the just over 2000 theaters showing the film.

Replicas stars Reeves as William Foster, a scientist whose work includes attempting to create synthetic clones as alternative bodies for human beings. However, when his wife (Alice Eve) and their children are killed in a car accident, he uses his knowledge and background to resurrect them through this cloning technology without telling the clones about his actions. Things get further complicated when his employers decide that the clones are their property, something that pits William against the lab, the government, and science itself in order to save his "family".

The premise itself has some promise, but according to critics and audiences who have seen the film, the execution is lacking in a big way. AV Club's review felt the movie was so bad it could give you an existential crisis and most of the other reviews are in that vein. It's something that's reflected in Replicas' Rotten Tomatoes score.

According to the review aggregator, Replicas is currently sitting at 11 percent with three positive ratings out of 28 total for a "rotten" rating. The audience score is also pretty bad itself, sitting at 41 percent. It's worth noting that these numbers represent a drop from the numbers reflected on Saturday when we first covered the poor critical response to the movie.

Even with the negative reviews and poor box office performance -- the film had a budget of around $30 million just for reference -- there are those who thought the movie was actually pretty good. There are a handful of audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes that call the film "thought-provoking" while even some of the more negative reviews noted that the ending was particularly interesting. That's in keeping with CBR's Alexandra August, whose review is one of the rare positive ones for the film. In her review, she called the ending "wonderfully strange".

"The movie closes on a wonderfully strange note that's the cherry on top of the weird little sundae that is this movie," the review reads.

Did you check out Replicas this weekend? Let us know what you thought about the film in the comments below.

If clones aren't your thing, you can next see Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3 when it lands in theaters on May 17th.

2comments
Comments ( 2 )

of