PREMIERE MAGAZINE #346

 

The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 35 Round 6)

 

 

 Roud 6 got the second half of the season off to an okay start. Here's The Roundup....

3. N/A

2. Vultures

Writer Clive Steinbeck seems to have figured out the formula for Rob Zombie grindhouse horror based on this and Bigfoot. While Vultures didn't reinvent the wheel it was entertaining from start to finish.

1. Tom Clancy-verse

While Ghost Recon wasn't quite the hit that Splinter Cell or Rainbow Six was, it at least shows that Tom Clancy adaptations are still completely viable (and lucrative).

3. The Friend Zone

The studio reaction hit the nail on the head for this one. It wasn't a Fantasy/Comedy - it was a Fantasy/Romantic Comedy. Either way I think the film missed out on a lot of the potential comedy (and romance) of the concept. 

2. Ghost Recon

Jon Hamm really is no Tom Cruise. Hamm may be younger than Cruise, but he feels too old and inactive to headline a film like this. It didn't deliver the action goods nearly enough for me.

1. Box Office

Ghost Recon's box office helped things a little bit, but not a lot.

On Location (Season 35 Round 6)

 

Vultures

- Salton City, California, USA

The Friend Zone

- Prague, Czech Republic

Ghost Recon

- Ninh Binh, Vietnam

- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office Breakdown (Season 35 Round 6)

 

Vultures

Budget: $13,000,000

Total Box Office: $29,509,391

Total Profit: $7,320,090

The Friend Zone

Budget: $65,000,000

Total Box Office: $94,345,981

Total Profit: -$25,000,113

Ghost Recon

Budget: $90,000,000

Total Box Office: $218,792,715

Total Profit: $22,117,900

Box Office Facts

Vultures

Rob Zombie has now directed three films for the studio - all of which have managed to turn a profit. The three films have combined for $34.6 million in profits - an average profit of $11.5 million per film.

The Friend Zone

Chris Pratt's track record at the box office is a little spottier, with seven films now under his belt three have now been flops financially.

Ghost Recon

Tom Clancy adaptations have been quite lucrative for the studio over its history. Ghost Recon is now the 9th Tom Clancy game or book adaptation - all of which managed profits.  The nine Clancy-verse films have now combined to gross a whopping $6.7 BILLION at the box office.

Genre Rankings

Vultures

Horror: #125

The Friend Zone

Fantasy: #83

Comedy: #47

Ghost Recon

Action: #206

Season 35 Round 6

Total Box Office: $342,648,087

Total Profit: $4,437,877

Season 35 Totals

Total Box Office: $2,199,350,915

Total Profit: $59,324,769

Season 35 Summary

1. ThunderCats : $372,054,861

2. The Punisher: Purgatory : $231,004,586

3. Ghost Recon : $218,792,715

4. Zorro : $215,997,717

5. Blood and Glory : $196,666,547

6. Discovery : $167,267,665

7. The Tick : $166,896,092

8. Spelljammer : $158,394,702

9. The Friend Zone : $94,345,981

10. Unreasonable Doubt : $73,817,196

11. Tara's Wrath : $73,090,751

12. Man of God : $63,494,668

13. The Writer and the Film Star : $39,529,721

14. Thus Dreamed Zarathustra : $34,589,058

15. Vultures : $29,509,391

16. The Letter Never Sent : $29,417,143

17. Dust Saint : $26,796,972

18. Running from the Spotlight : $7,685,149

LRF TRIVIA TIDBITS (Season 35 Round 6)

 

Welcome back for more LRF Trivia Tidbits! Round 6 of Season 35 showcases three very different creative motivations at work: a filmmaker reunion built around trust and familiarity, a rom-com shaped by chemistry and directorial competition, and a franchise entry expanding an already deep adaptation bench within the LRF canon.

Vultures

Following the success of Bigfoot in Season 32, writer Clive Steinbeck deliberately crafted Vultures with a starring role tailored for Sheri Moon Zombie, knowing it would be the most effective way to lure Rob Zombie back into the director’s chair. The strategy paid off, reuniting Zombie with his frequent collaborator (and wife) and reaffirming the pair’s creative shorthand within the LRF horror slate.

The Friend Zone

While Chris Pratt was the early and consistent favorite to play the lead role of Dale Rivers, all other hires for the project remained in flux during development. The film was finally ready for production when Anna Kendrick landed the female lead, her quirky energy providing the ideal counterbalance to Pratt’s goofier charm. Behind the scenes, Michel Gondry ultimately secured the directing gig, edging out both Taika Waititi and Charlie Kaufman.

Ghost Recon

With Ghost Recon, LRF continued its long-running relationship with Tom Clancy properties. The studio previously found massive success with Tom Cruise’s six-film Splinter Cell run as Sam Fisher, while Tom Hardy headlined adaptations of Without Remorse and Rainbow Six as John Clark - making Ghost Recon the latest chapter in an already well-established Clancy universe.

Release: Ghost Recon

 

Ghost Recon

Genre: Action

Director: Ben Affleck

Writer: Dawson Edwards

Based on the video game franchise

Cast: Jon Hamm, Tenoch Huerta, Natalie Morales, Casey Affleck, Daniel Dae Kim, Wesley Snipes, Caleb McLaughlin

Budget: $90,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $120,596,106

Foreign Box Office: $98,196,609

Total Profit: $22,117,900

Reaction: While the film is certainly a success with $22 million in profits, it is far from the massive hits that the Splinter Cell films or John Clark films were, but as Reuben Schwartz recently said in the latest edition of The Trades: "Jon Hamm is certainly no Tom Cruise."

"Ben Affleck’s Ghost Recon is a competent, grounded military thriller that understands its assignment even if it never exceeds it. Jon Hamm brings steady authority to the lead, and the ensemble adds texture to an otherwise familiar squad dynamic. Affleck favors clear geography and restrained action over flash, which works in the moment but limits tension. The stakes feel broadly sketched, and Paik’s motivations never fully land, yet the film remains solid, adult-oriented action." - Dave Manning, Ridgefield Press

"Ghost Recon strains toward prestige seriousness while remaining trapped in video game logic, unfolding like a sequence of well-mounted missions loosely connected by themes of duty and loss. Hamm is credible but distant, and emotional beats—especially early casualties—fade quickly once the next objective begins. Affleck’s sober direction avoids excess but also drains momentum, leaving a film that’s too somber to be fun and too schematic to feel meaningful." - Cal Crowe, Washington Globe

"Ghost Recon aims for sober, grounded realism but ends up feeling inert, weighed down by familiar plotting and a curiously low sense of urgency. The action is staged with competence yet rarely excites, and the characters blur together under a script that leans on recycled war-movie platitudes. Jon Hamm doesn’t help matters: while he has authority, his attempt at a hard-edged action lead feels strained, more posed toughness than physical credibility, especially given the demands of the role. With muted set pieces and emotional beats that never quite land, the film comes off as polished but lifeless." - Justin Rodriguez, Detroit Free Press

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence and action, some disturbing images, and language.

Game to Film: Ghost Recon

 

Welcome back for another level of Game to Film! This time we are taking a look at the cast of the Jon Hamm-led Clancy-verse video game adaptation of Ghost Recon. Ben Affleck (Lowell, Born in Brooklyn) is directing the film from a script by Dawson Edwards (Spelljammer, Assata).