“The studios are destroying theatrical business, Full Stop”: Even Austin Butler and Tom Hardy’s Stardom is Not Enough to Stop The Bikeriders’ Ridiculously Early Online Release and Fans Are Furious
The Bikeriders, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hardy in leading roles alongside a wide range of stars, was recently released in the theaters. Despite having a star-studded cast, things do not look well for the Jeff Nichols film as it will get its online release, just 18 days after its theatrical release.
A still from The Bikeriders | Focus Features
The 2024 multistarrer crime drama debuted at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023. The Bikeriders was slated to be released on December 1, 2023, but the SAG-AFTRA strike delayed the release to this year. Although the film could not do a massive collection at the box office, the audience is utterly disappointed with its ridiculously early online release.
How did Austin Butler fail to give another box office hit with The Bikeriders?
Austin Butler in The Bikeriders | Focus Features
Austin Butler was a part of one of the most significant hits of this year, Dune: Part Two. His performance as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was appreciated by the critics and audiences. Before that, his Elvis was also a significant hit and generated a positive viewer reception. Unfortunately, he failed to do that with The Bikeriders.
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On the other hand, Tom Hardy also came back on-screen after his Venom: Let There Be Carnage success and uncredited cameos in Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections.
Tom Hardy in a still from The Bikeriders | Focus Features
According to The Numbers, The Bikeriders has earned $23.6 million on a reported budget of $30-40 million. The latest report by Comicbook suggests that the film will hit VOD on July 19th, only 18 days after its release. While the lack of advertisement and massive competition from other films can be blamed for such a poor reception of the film, it is also to be noted that these types of films require time to breathe.
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Recently, it has been noticed that most movies that cannot perform at the box office are given a very early online release. Last week, even The Watchers was announced to get an early home release, after just 21 days. Before that, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s The Fall Guy was also made available to rent or buy digitally just 2 weeks after the release.
This trend is evidence that the Hollywood landscape is witnessing a rapid shift. Following the case of The Bikeriders, many fans took to X to address this issue and raise their voice against it.
The fans are disappointed with The Bikeriders’ early online release
Tom Hardy as Johnny, a leader of a notorious biker gang in The Bikeriders | Focus Features
Soon after the report of The Bikeriders‘ early online release reached the audience, they openly raised their voice against it. Many viewers claim that the film was commendable and suffered from a bad promotion and delays. They took to X and stated that it was wrong for the makers to give such a less breathing space to the film.
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Let’s take a look at some tweets by the fans:
It cannot be denied that even though most event films are getting their successful run, others are not doing well at the box office. A certain section of fans asserted that to prevent the rapid shift, the audience also needs to visit the theaters and support all kinds of movies.
The Bikeriders is running in theaters near you.