The A-Team
Rate Movie[Total: 14 Average: 3.2]
- Directed By: Joe Carnahan
- Written By: Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom, Skip Woods
- Release Date: June 11, 2010
- Domestic Distributor: FOX
- Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Sharlto Copley
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $110 million | Financed by: FOX; Ingenious Media; Dune Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $77,222,099 | Overseas Gross: $100,016,697 |
After more than a decade in development and 11 writers who came and went, FOX finally announced a greenlight for the big screen version of the 1983 series The A-Team in January 2009. The studio had struggled for years on how to rebrand the series into a big budget tentpole, while shedding the campiness of the show and it took millions of dollars in development fees and almost a dozen writers to come up with this formulaic action fare. FOX announced the June 11, 2010 release date when they announced the project and planned on franchising the property.
FOX majority financed The A-Team for $110 million and received additional capital from the equity fund Ingenious Media, which invested in select FOX productions and Dune Entertainment — which invested into most of FOX’s slate of films.
After the The A-Team disappointed at the box office, director Joe Carnahan blamed the marketing, saying: “We kind of fell victim to a marketing misstep in that there wasn’t necessarily an understanding of what the show was. We didn’t do an adequate enough job of telling people what the movie was, if you know what I mean.” We literally have no idea what he means. The marketing and trailers easily sold the derivative plot of the film, about a team of mercenaries framed for a crime they didn’t commit and their mission is to clear their name and subsequently blow lots of shit up along the way. A movie this stupid sells itself. However, the marketing appealed to just one quadrant — young males.
The A-Team bowed against another rebooted 1980’s property The Karate Kid and it received mixed reviews that leaned negative. Tracking was pointing to an opening near $35 million, but came in way below expectations with $25,669,455 — placing #2 for the weekend led by The Karate Kid. It declined 43.9% to $14,405,318 the following frame and then sank 56.9% to $6,204,454 in its third session, when another action comedy Knight and Day entered the market. The domestic run closed with less than franchise numbers at $77,222,099.
The A-Team fared a bit better overseas for FOX, where it cumed $100M. The worldwide gross was $177.2M and the studio would see returned about $97.4M, which would almost cover global P&A expenses, but the theatrical receipts would not dent the budget.
When doing a remake of anything, you should look to the original fans. For the first time in my life, here in 2022 I have this movie on tv.. and 10 minutes in I was hugely disappointed. Terrible casting. It’s like no one who made this movie, ever seen any of the original show. And I would rather an old Mr. T than this terrible version they got in Rampage.
I’ve watched this film over 20 times, a few times voluntarily, and there’s a point where it goes beyond a typical action flick into art around the 15th viewing. It’s like being awakened into a new era.
Jessica Biel was the only good thing about the movie.