Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
- Rate Movie[Total: 7 Average: 2.7]
- Directed By: Geoffrey Sax
- Written By: Anthony Horowitz
- Release Date: October 13, 2006
- Domestic Distributor: The Weinstein Company
- Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Ewan McGregor, Mickey Rourke, Andy Serkis
Box Office Info:
Budget: $40 million | Financed by: Entertainment Film Distributors; Capitol Films; The Weinstein Company; Isle of Man Film; VIP Medienfonds; UK Film Council |
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Domestic Box Office: $677,646 | Overseas Box Office: $23,260,224 |
The budget for Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker was $40 million, which was one of the more expensive UK productions. Financing came from Entertainment Film Distributors, Capitol Films, The Weinstein Company, Isle of Man Film, VIP Medienfonds and the UK Film Council contributed $4.3 million, which is one of its largest commitments to one film. Capital films pre-sold the project very well to international distributors who overpaid for the potential franchise.
The UK release went out under the title Stormbreaker and was distributed by Entertainment and after a strong marketing push and much buzz, it was expected to gross blockbuster numbers. It pulled in a disappointing $2,313,496 opening weekend and closed its run with a soft $12,872,046.
The Weinstein Company handled the US release for Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker and first dated the picture for a wide release on October 6, 2006. After the movie underperformed in the UK, The Weinstein Company canceled the wide rollout and dumped the film. It was pushed back a week and opened limited on October 13 in just 221 theaters.
Reviews were poor and awareness of the tween pic was low to non-existent and it pulled in $215,177 with a terrible $973 per screen average. It sank 65.1% to $75,058 the following frame and then promptly lost most of its theater count. The US run closed with just $677,646. Novelist and screenwriter for Alex Rider Anthony Horowitz, told Reuters “Harvey Weinstein decided not to distribute it (in the United States). It is one of the most bizarre and annoying things that the film didn’t get given its shot in America. To this day I don’t know why.” The Weinstein Company also took multiple territories on another scripted film by Anthony Horowitz back in 2001 called The Gathering and had it collect dust until being dumped straight to video in 2007.
The would-be franchise pulled in terrible numbers in every market, with its overseas total at $23.2M and more than half of that coming from its UK gross and it was sent straight to video in Germany.
British James Bond knock offs always have an annoying paint by numbers feel to them, even the camera work.
If they added a few more jokes in this, it would easily pass as a Johnny English script.
But all I remember from the movie was them spamming the hell out of the Nintendo DS for some reason :S