9 Reasons The Expendables 4 Bombed At The Box Office Despite $800M Franchise History (2024)

Expend4bles had a record-breaking opening weekend in the worst way possible, and there are a number of reasons why this fourth Expendables movie bombed at the box office. Sylvester Stallone returns as Barney Ross in Expend4bles as his Expendables team is sent to Libya to keep a mercenary from stealing nuclear warheads. The sequel marks the first movie in the Expendables franchise in nine years, and with almost any other franchise, there'd be so much excitement surrounding the release. However, that wasn't the case for Expend4bles, and the wait actually had a reverse effect.

The fourth Expendables installment bombed at the box office during the worst weekend of the year, as there wasn't a single movie that made more than $10 million domestically. While that's hardly surprising for movies that have been in theaters for months, Expend4bles' $8.3 million gross (via Box Office Mojo) in its opening weekend is a disaster for Lionsgate. What makes the performance even worse is the movie's $100 million budget, and as Expend4bles needs over $200 million to break even given its marketing costs, the studio could lose up to $150 million. Nevertheless, the writing was on the wall the whole time regarding Expend4bles' box office.

Related: Why Sylvester Stallone Is Barely In The Expendables 4

9 The Expendables 4's Reviews Were Really Terrible

The Expendables franchise has impressively managed to remain successful despite constant bad reviews. The Expendables has a 42% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes while The Expendables 3 has just a 31% score. Nevertheless, despite those "rotten" scores, the movies still managed to make $311 million and $209 million, respectively (via The Numbers). However, the reviews for the fourth Expendables movie aren't just mixed but overwhelmingly negative. The sequel has a miserable 16% critic score on the review aggregate, barely reaching double-digits. Everything in the movie has been attacked by critics, from the CGI to the story to the acting, which didn't help the movie's box office.

8 The Expendables 3 Had Already Hurt The Franchise

The success of a franchise movie is often based not just on the movie's quality but the reception of its predecessor. Despite being considered a return to form, Mission: Impossible III infamously underperformed at the box office due to the negative response to Mission: Impossible II. Similarly, even though Expend4bles hasn't been well-received, the box office was significantly impacted by the negative response of The Expendables 3. That sequel was negatively received for being too drab and lackluster, and with that being the most recent memory of the action franchise, the fourth Expendables movie struggled to retain the series' original fanbase.

7 The Expendables Franchise Was Gone For 9 Years (& People Stopped Caring)

Long breaks between franchise movies can be good for some series, as releasing so many films in quick succession can make audiences suffer fatigue. Breaks can also create more excitement for an upcoming movie, but the long wait for the fourth Expendables movie had a reverse effect. Given that The Expendables was never that beloved of a franchise to begin with, the nine-year wait led to audiences completely losing interest in the series, and Expend4bles isn't exactly the legacy sequel event that other late follow-ups are. There's also a middle ground between releasing sequels too quickly and taking long breaks, and Expend4bles should have been released four years ago.

6 The Expendables 4 Doesn't Have The Same Star Power Anymore

The big appeal of The Expendables was the ensemble cast of '80s and '90s action heroes. Along with Sylvester Stallone, the first movie starred Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, and Bruce Willis. The Expendables 2 added Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, and it became exciting to see which movie stars would be added to the cast of each consecutive release. Unfortunately, the Expendables 4 cast is weak, as the biggest additions are 50 Cent and Megan Fox, neither of known are known for being action heroes or even for their acting. Expend4bles also failed to retain the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and other big stars of the Expendables series.

5 There Are Better Alternatives To Expendables 4 If Going To The Theater

Given that 2023 has been a huge year for movies, there has been a lot of competition in theaters, and many big-budget releases have struggled to become successful, and that's no more true with Expend4bles. The Equalizer 3 was recently released, which is a far superior action movie to the fourth Expendables, and A Haunting in Venice and The Nun 2 are exciting popcorn flicks that deliver better theatrical experiences, too. However, given that some of these movies have been released for weeks, they shouldn't have been considered Expend4bles' "competition." Nevertheless, in its third weekend, The Nun 2 still outgrossed Expend4bles.

4 Many People Know To Wait For Expendables 4 On VOD Or Streaming

Ever since COVID-19, It has become the norm to expect movies on streaming sooner rather than later, as studios announced day-and-date theatrical and streaming releases on services like Disney+ and Max. As a result, audiences have been conditioned into believing that theater visits can be skipped, especially movies that aren't events or essential viewing, such as Expend4bles. If it had been released in the mid-2010s, the fourth Expendables movie would undoubtedly have made more money at the box office, as potential audiences wouldn't have had this mindset. Ironically, now that the 2023 movie has bombed at the box office, the film will likely be available on VOD sooner than expected.

3 Expendables 4 Is R-Rated (& Doesn't Even Take Advantage Of The Rating)

Expend4bles is rated R, which can be detrimental to a movie's performance. The R rating limits who can see the movie, and that's true with the latest Expendables installment, especially as The Expendables 3 was rated PG-13. However, the R rating could have helped Expend4bles if the studio had taken advantage of the rating with its action sequences like the Equalizer and John Wick series. Leaning into the R rating helped those movies become popular, and the fourth Expendables should've followed suit. Unfortunately, Expend4bles couldn't even do that, and the movie is R-rated for all the wrong reasons, as Megan Fox's character is over-sexualized while the action is shockingly tame.

2 2023's Box Office Successes Prove Audiences Want Smarter Movies Than Expendables 4

With the likes of Oppenheimer and Barbie, smart big-budget movies have been hugely successful at the box office in 2023. While it isn't a "smart" movie, John Wick: Chapter 4 still had a heartfelt, totally engaging, and well-told story along with its action, which helped the movie become a box office success. Expend4bles isn't smart and doesn't have an engaging story that helped other 2023 movies become surprise box office hits. The ending of the fourth Expendables movie alone is nonsensical, as Barney implausibly comes back from the dead, which is a perfect example of how the film makes no attempt to be smart or creative.

1 Expendables 4 Didn't Deliver What Fans Loved About The Franchise

Besides the always-growing Expendables cast, fans flocked to the franchise for the camaraderie and banter between the characters, along with exciting action set pieces. All the fourth Expendables movie needed to deliver was an interesting cast, fun one-liners, and badass fight sequences, which is a low bar. Unfortunately, Expend4bles failed on all those fronts, and the movie has been criticized for its painful banter between the characters and badly shot action scenes. The quality of the movie is ultimately the main reason why the film bombed at the box office, and it makes the chances of The Expendables 5 happening unlikely.