The Weeknd could also be one of many greatest recording artists of his technology, however he is not an enormous film star (not but, anyway). Whereas we do not precisely have a big pattern dimension, the singer-turned-actor’s main characteristic movie debut “Hurry Up Tomorrow” bombed in its debut on the field workplace. Based mostly on his album of the identical identify, this inventive cinematic experiment did not pan out regardless of having some main star energy on board — specifically, Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday,” “Scream VI”).
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Directed by Trey Edward Shults, “Hurry Up Tomorrow” opened to only $3.3 million on over 2,000 screens on the North American field workplace over the weekend, failing to land within the prime 5 on the charts. The movie was very a lot overshadowed by “Remaining Vacation spot Bloodlines,” which had an enormous $51 million home opening. Even so, these motion pictures ought to have been in a position to co-exist as counter-programming in a perfect state of affairs. That is not how issues panned out, although.
“Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which Shults co-wrote with The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim, facilities on a musician who’s affected by insomnia and is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel his existence. Barry Keoghan (“Saltburn,” “Eternals”) additionally stars alongside Tesfaye and Ortega.
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Sadly, the movie continues Lionsgate’s unhealthy streak on the field workplace courting again to final 12 months. The excellent news is that the film carries a reported $15 million price range, so it isn’t going to be an enormous cash loser. The opposite excellent news for Lionsgate is that Dwell Nation footed the price range, with the studio merely serving as a distributor on this forged. Nonetheless, Lionsgate clearly had greater issues in thoughts given the star energy concerned with this one.
Hurry Up Tomorrow was a worthwhile experiment that did not pan out
It did not assist that critics have been, at finest, blended on “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” /Movie’s Witney Seibold, for instance, referred to as the film “all fashion and no substance” in his overview. This additionally marks two misfires in a row for Ortega, who’s considered one of Hollywood’s greatest rising A-list stars. She additionally headlined A24’s “Dying of a Unicorn,” which disenchanted in theaters when it opened in March. Ortega may be very a lot an enormous star in the best challenge, significantly if that is inside a pre-existing franchise, as we noticed in 2024 with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Sadly, turning unique motion pictures into hits is much tougher at the moment.
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As The Weeknd, Tesfaye has bought almost 25 million albums worldwide. Whereas he’s ditching his alter-ego after the discharge of “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” the notion of a recording artist of his magnitude branching out into motion pictures is by no means unprecedented. Simply take a look at what Prince did with “Purple Rain.” However that was the ’80s and that is now. The very fact of the matter is “Hurry Up Tomorrow” simply did not resonate with its meant viewers within the early going.
Within the combination, the film may make its a reimbursement by boosting gross sales of the Weeknd’s album. It additionally may simply catch fireplace on streaming/VOD, given the star energy Ortega brings to the desk. In any case, the Ortega-led “Miller’s Lady” hardly registered on the field workplace however was an enormous hit on Netflix. That is the good thing about conserving a price range low: It might probably nonetheless make its a reimbursement over time. You do not run the chance of doing what Paramount did with the Robbie Williams biopic “Higher Man,” which flopped badly earlier this 12 months. Having a significant recording artist group up with a bankable film star for a movie was a good sufficient thought on paper. On this case, it simply did not work out.
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“Hurry Up Tomorrow” is in theaters now.
