![]() That’s a drop of 31% from last weekend, marking a solid hold for the Robert De Niro comedy. ![]() ![]() 1, The War With Grandpa, which grossed an estimated $2.5 million from 2,260 screens. Though Honest Thief did not play well with critics (its Rotten Tomatoes score is just 38%), the studio points out that its Audience Score on the review aggregator is 88% - albeit from just 300 ratings.Ĭoming in second place in its sophomore frame was last weekend’s No. Next weekend, it will presumably be expanding into New York state, where theaters have been cleared to reopen on Friday, October 23 (though New York City theaters have been ordered to remain shuttered for the time being). For another, it opened in a marketplace with virtually zero competition, whereas Honest Thief arrives on the scene with a handful of other wide releases in play.Īccording to Open Road, Honest Thief played well in key markets including Miami, Chicago, San Diego and Atlanta. That said, the Russell Crowe thriller had a couple of extra elements in its favor: For one thing, it received an organic press push as the first wide release in theaters in five months. Starring Neeson as a bank robber who gets double-crossed by FBI agents, Honest Thief came in lower in its opening frame than the similar Unhinged, which debuted to $4.02 million back in August on significantly fewer screens (1,823). That brings the total for the Liam Neeson thriller to an estimated $4.2 million, which includes grosses prior to the weekend. 1 film at the North American box office over the weekend, coming in slightly ahead of our pre-release forecast with an estimated $3.7 million from 2,425 screens. Much like its central character, the film at least proves honest in its intentions.Open Road’s Honest Thief was the No. Running a sleek 90 minutes before the credits roll, Honest Thief is certainly efficient if not exactly original, with writer/director Williams infusing it with enough quirky character touches - such as Tom crankily complaining how much he hates his “In and Out Bandit” moniker - to distract from the derivative feeling of it all. Walsh is charmingly endearing as the plucky love interest willing to put herself in danger, and Donovan does solid work as the agent who comes to respect and trust his adversary (although the actor is saddled with far too much cutesy business involving an adorable dog). But he fully invests himself in the material, delivering lines like “I’m gonna make things right, my way” with just enough menace while providing subtle notes of tenderness and humor that make his character fully sympathetic. Besides bank robbing, Tom has a particular set of skills stemming from his service as a Marine, including demolitions expertise and being surprisingly effective in hand-to-hand combat with significantly younger men.īy now, Neeson can do this sort of thing in his sleep. “Agent Nivens, I’m coming for you,” Tom quietly intones at one point, and there’s no doubt that’s a promise that will be violently fulfilled. Soon, Tom and Annie are involved in a deadly cat-and-mouse game against them, even while also being relentlessly pursued by the straight-arrow Agent Meyers (Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice). Those crooked agents have clearly never seen a Liam Neeson movie, since everybody who has knows by now that things don’t go well when you try to take something that’s his (even the film’s poster makes the case, warning “Never Steal a Man’s Second Chance”). Unfortunately, he doesn’t anticipate that the agents assigned to his case, Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos), will double-cross him by framing him for the murder of their superior (Robert Patrick, exuding his usual gravitas) and trying to kill him. Rather than, say, simply returning the money to the authorities anonymously and living happily ever after, the virtuous Tom contacts the FBI and offers to turn himself in and give back the cash in return for a lighter sentence. Dubbed by the media as the “In and Out Bandit,” Tom is ready to give up his life of crime after meeting and falling in love with the vivacious Annie ( Kate Walsh), the manager of the storage facility where he’s stashed his impressive $9 million dollars in illicit loot. Neeson, who fits squarely in that tradition, plays Tom Carter, who has spent the last several years meticulously robbing small-town banks while avoiding any violence. Minus its elaborate car chases and pyrotechnics, the film would have landed perfectly as a ’40s-era Warner Brothers programmer starring the likes of James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart. Less baroque than some of Neeson’s recent efforts, Honest Thief is a solid B-movie thriller that benefits from tight pacing that helps you overcome its significant plot incredulities.
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