Why Jason Statham's A Working Man Blew Everyone Away At The Box Office

In 2025, Hollywood finds itself at a crossroads. In the past, certain things seemed like surefire hits. Just look at 2019 when Disney had a massive amount of success with its live-action remakes of beloved animated properties — "Aladdin" and "The Lion King." Both of those ended up making over $1 billion each. And the Marvel Cinematic Universe was at the top of its game, with all of its 2019 movies — "Captain Marvel," "Avengers: Endgame," and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" — all pulling in over $1 billion globally. In the case of "Endgame," it was briefly the highest grossing movie ever before "Avatar" reclaimed the title.

Now, things are different. The live-action "Snow White" has bombed at the box office, and Marvel's "Captain America: Brave New World" has underperformed significantly, currently standing at just over $400 million worldwide. Part of this is simply due to many blockbusters having exorbitant budgets, meaning they have to make huge amounts of money just to break even. These kinds of duds may be making executives reconsider their priorities, and the answer may just lie in more material like "A Working Man," starring Jason Statham. 

"A Working Man" is an R-rated action flick where Statham plays a man who comes out of retirement to save a girl kidnapped by human traffickers. It's a set-up we've seen before, but clearly, it still works, as it came in at number one at the box office. It's not going to make $1 billion, but its success may show how the answer lies in mid-budget films that can more easily turn solid profits.

Movies can't just make back their budget to be seen as profitable. After marketing costs, it's typically considered that a film needs to make between two and a half to three times its budget to earn a profit. That's a tall order when a film's budget balloons to over $200 million, but when a studio keeps things manageable, a movie doesn't have to make a ton to be seen as a success.

That's the story here: "A Working Man" brought in $15.2 million domestically in its first few days, as well as another $15 million internationally, for a grand total of just over $30 million. This handily gave it the number one spot, as "Snow White" tanked its second weekend, only bringing in $14.2 million. While "Snow White" has brought in more money overall, it has a reported budget in the range of $240 to $270 million. "Snow White" likely isn't going to hit the threshold to be considered profitable. Meanwhile, "A Working Man" has a far more manageable budget, being reported at $40 million. That means it needs to make approximately $100 million to break even, so it's already a third of the way there. 

Marvel movies and live-action Disney remakes are no longer a certainty to be profitable. And if they flop, studios stand to lose a ton of money. "A Working Man" is a prime example of how a film can top the box office charts with tried-and-true genres and formulas that people will turn out to see. It's substantially easier to turn a profit on a $40 million movie than a $200 million one, especially with an actor like Jason Statham on the poster.

"Snow White" flailing at the box office could be attributed to its myriad controversies, but honestly, it's marketed toward an entirely different demographic from those who would want to see "A Working Man." But what's perhaps most impressive about the Jason Statham film topping the box office this weekend is that it had a fair amount of competition from other counter-programming options. 

First, there's A24's "Death of a Unicorn" starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd. It's the latest in an ever-increasing list of "Eat the rich" narratives popping up in film and television lately, only this one's about people who want to grind down a dead unicorn's horn upon realizing it can cure any ailment. It only grossed $5.8 million in its opening weekend, putting it in fifth total. Coming slightly ahead of "Death of a Unicorn" is the Universal/Blumhouse horror flick "The Woman in the Yard," which made $9.4 million in its first few days.

They're both horror films, with "Death of a Unicorn" being more of a horror comedy, which is a subgenre that tends to attract a sizable audience. Perhaps these two films cannibalized the other's audience, forcing them down the pole. But don't feel too bad for these films: "Death of a Unicorn" and "The Woman in the Yard" had budgets of $15 and $12 million, respectively. They could both prove successful, but even if they don't, the studios shouldn't feel the burn too badly. 

For adults wanting to go to the movie theater at the end of March, they had plenty of options, so one would assume that they would check the scores of new releases on Rotten Tomatoes to see what's good and what they should skip. Unfortunately, nothing really stood out in that department. "A Working Man" has a 51% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing, which isn't exactly stellar praise. In theory, that could have steered people away, but "Death of a Unicorn" and "The Woman in the Yard" didn't fare much better.

Both of those movies boast similar scores on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time of this writing they're rated at 56% and 43%, respectively), so the competition wasn't exactly fierce. Sure, "A Working Man" probably isn't going to be up for any Oscars come 2026, but you know what you're going to get with an action movie starring Jason Statham, and that's seemingly what gave it the edge: It appears to have been a more enticing proposition for moviegoers rather than a couple of horror movies with lukewarm reviews.

"A Working Man" isn't the first time Jason Statham and director David Ayer have worked together. The pairing enjoyed a great deal of success in 2024 with their previous effort, "The Beekeeper." In truth, it's an astonishingly similar action flick, as Statham once again plays a guy with special training who's just trying to live a lowkey life but then gets called out of retirement when some bad guys hurt someone close to him. It's almost like the two are creating an unofficial Statham universe of socially conscious action films: "The Beekeeper" dealt with scam artists targeting the elderly, while "A Working Man" handles human trafficking. 

The two films are off on similar footing in terms of budget and box office take. "A Working Man" made an impressive $15.2 million in its opening weekend, and "The Beekeeper" also blew everyone away at the box office with its $16.5 million opening take. The latter film would eventually gross $152 million overall against its budget of $40 million, turning a tidy profit, so hopes are likely very high for "A Working Man." 

The question is whether "A Working Man" will end up having the same legs as "The Beekeeper" — after all, the latter film scored better ratings when it first came out and it managed to hang onto them (it ended up with a critics' score of 71% and an audience rating of 92%). Even if it doesn't crack the $150 million mark, there's still plenty of time for it to make enough money to be considered a big success.

In 2025, movie stars are hard to come by, with most people being drawn to intellectual property rather than a specific name. People want to see a Spider-Man movie; they're not necessarily turning out to see Tom Holland in every little thing he does. There are, of course, big names who have been major draws for decades, like Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington. The newest crop of stars aren't automatically bringing in the big bucks on their star power alone. There are, however, a few low-key box office stalwarts who don't get enough credit, and Jason Statham is among them.

It may surprise you to know that Statham's films have pulled in almost $2 billion at the box office over the years, and recent evidence suggests that his star power is not fading. The one-two punch of "The Beekeeper" and "A Working Man" prove that people like what the actor's dishing out. You also have 2021's "Wrath of Man," which brought in a very respectable $103 million worldwide, and 2023's "Meg 2: The Trench," which took a sizable chunk out of the box office with just under $400 million in earnings.

Of course, like any actor, Statham isn't bulletproof (when he teamed up with director Guy Ritchie in 2023 for "Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre," the film failed to recoup its $50 million budget). But, by and large, a decent Statham action thriller can bring in over $100 million. If a studio makes one of those for around $30 to $40 million, it can be chalked up as a success. Anyone looking for an easy win would be wise to produce his next film.

Movie studios currently exist in a state of flux, trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Superhero movies and live-action Disney remakes used to be guaranteed hits, but audiences are drifting away from them. This isn't to say those kinds of films can't work, as "Deadpool & Wolverine" blew the box office apart in 2024. But studios need to soften the blow when one of those pictures fails with something more dependable, something tried and tested that doesn't cost a fortune, and action movies starring guys known for being in action movies (like Jason Statham) seem to be a safe bet.

"A Working Man" is an old-fashioned, meat and potatoes action movie, and people knew what they were getting when they purchased a ticket. Of course, it's a genre typically enjoyed by men, and "A Working Man" seems to have hoovered up the male viewership in its opening weekend. As Deadline noted, "Death of a Unicorn" and "The Woman in the Yard" are two "largely female skewing" films that clearly "went after each other" in terms of target audience. The Hollywood trade confirmed that "'Woman in the Yard' drew 31% women over 25 and 24% women under 25 while 'Death of a Unicorn' had 29% women over 25 and 20% female under 25."

The beginning of 2025 has seen a glut of male-centric media, but much of it has been on the small screen: "Reacher" Season 3 on Amazon Prime Video, which is mostly about the titular character (Alan Ritchson) beating up guys that are somehow even bigger than he is, has been a stellar success, bringing in nearly 55 million viewers globally during its first few weeks. Dudes beating up dudes is a formula that doesn't get old to a particular demographic, and that appears to have helped "A Working Man" at the box office.

Movie studios spend millions on advertising their films, but sometimes, the thing that turns something into a success is something completely outside of their control. The truth is that, sometimes, random people on the internet can do a better job of getting butts in seats than any ad company. Just look at the tremendous success of Barbenheimer, which began as an internet joke with people basically being like, "Wouldn't it be funny to see these two radically different movies as a double feature?" It's near-impossible to determine if "A Working Man" benefitted from something similar, but we'd be remiss to ignore the vocal online community behind #ReleaseTheAyerCut.

For those not in the know, many people are trying to get Warner Bros. to release David Ayer's director's cut of 2016's "Suicide Squad," similarly to how fans got the studio to do the same with the Zack Snyder Cut of "Justice League." After years of online campaigning, Warner Bros. relented and put up the entire four-hour cut on Max. It seems many are hoping Ayer can receive the same treatment — the filmmaker has been outspoken about how the version of "Suicide Squad" that people saw in theaters wasn't what he wanted and that Warner Bros. made it more comedic than he intended. 

One X account called ReleaseTheAyerCut has posted heavily about "A Working Man" to their 29,000 followers. The idea seems to be that if Ayer's new movie does well, perhaps it'll convince Warner Bros. that releasing his original cut is a worthwhile endeavor. It's unclear how many folks bought tickets specifically with that goal in mind, but it could've played a role, however minor. Just don't hold your breath for that Ayer cut, as Warner Bros. reportedly regrets releasing the Snyder Cut.

Donald Trump's second term in the White House is still young at this point, but the effects can already be felt in the film industry. "All of Hollywood is bracing for what could be a tumultuous four years under the Trump administration," said The Hollywood Reporter in December 2024, confirming in the same report that Disney had pulled a transgender storyline from the Pixar series "Win or Lose." In a statement, the company said: "When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline." Carrie Coon has also said that "The White Lotus" was supposed to have a storyline about a gender-questioning child, but it was dropped after Trump's election victory.

All of this seems to be an attempt from studios and streamers not to have their projects labeled as "woke" and subjected to scrutiny from conservatives. "A Working Man" could be seen as the start of Hollywood embracing more conservative-centric media. After all, the film's produced and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who in January was appointed by President Trump to be a special ambassador to Hollywood alongside Mel Gibson and Jon Voight. It's never been stated what this entails, but a Stallone-produced project topping the box office after being appointed to this position could be seen as a win for conservatives.

Not all of Trump's envoys are having success: Gibson's latest directorial effort, "Flight Risk," didn't really take off at the box office, making $42 million against a $25 million budget — not exactly a disaster, but far from a big win. It's vitally important that Hollywood continues having the courage to tell stories from a variety of viewpoints, particularly from people living in marginalized communities, but "A Working Man" beating out "Snow White" will undoubtedly be seen by some as a victory for conservative media.

"A Working Man" making $30 million in its opening weekend is a solid start, but it remains to be seen if it can get near the $150 million gross of "The Beekeeper" and get chalked up as a major win for Amazon MGM Studios. The film shouldn't have too much competition going forward, as the only major release in the immediate future is "A Minecraft Movie," which is a much kid-friendlier outing than the Jason Statham shoot-em-up. Of course, "A Working Man" will most likely forfeit the top spot when "A Minecraft Movie" arrives in cineplexes, but it may not experience too steep of a decline if it continues attracting adults who don't want to see Jack Black listing things you can find in the "Minecraft" game. 

However, things start looking a bit murkier the deeper we get into April 2025. The vigilante thriller "The Amateur" starring Rami Malek and A24's Navy SEAL movie "Warfare" are both on the horizon, and those definitely seem like they could take a formidable chunk away from "A Working Man." "The Amateur" even comes with a PG-13 rating, so a younger crowd could potentially check that out. Still, even if it doesn't hit the heights of "The Beekeeper," "A Working Man" has arguably already shown enough to at least keep the working relationship between David Ayer and Jason Statham going.