In the comic book realm, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy is a beloved character whose adventures still draw fans after 25 years. However, the World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator hasn’t had a lot of luck on film. Back in April, Lionsgate released a Hellboy reboot starring David Harbour as the title hero. But the film was greeted with a tepid response and it never recovered. Now, Hellboy‘s box office run has come to a disappointing conclusion.
Via Heroic Hollywood, Hellboy was pulled from theaters on May 16, just shy of five weeks after it was released. According to The Numbers, Hellboy only brought in $21.9 million domestically and $18 million internationally. Its worldwide gross is approximately $39.9 million; which is well below the domestic box office of the first two Hellboy films by Guillermo del Toro.
RELATED: David Harbour Acknowledges ‘Major Problems’ With Hellboy Reboot
What does this mean for the Hellboy franchise? For starters, any dream of a sequel or a revived film series is dead. Hellboy won’t even cover its $50 million budget; which means it’s considered to be a flop. That’s a hard label to shake in Hollywood. It’s difficult to see any studio committing to making more Hellboy adventures any time soon.
Perhaps one of the reasons that Hellboy failed is that it was positioned between Shazam! and Avengers: Endgame. That wasn’t an ideal release window. However, Hellboy‘s biggest failings were creative in nature. Reports about strife on the set of the film broke shortly before Hellboy‘s release. And as noted in our review, among others, the reboot wasn’t able to recapture the spirit of the comics or the del Toro movies.
What do you think was the biggest reason behind Hellboy‘s disastrous box office results? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Hellboy Library Edition, Volume 1: Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil
