Hollywood’s first major flop of the year: Gods of Egypt

GODS of Egypt, starring Gerard Butler, had a terrible opening weekend in the US. The only thing worse is the reviews.

A GROUP of ancient Egyptian deities couldn’t take down the mercenary with a mouth.

Marvel’s antihero blockbuster Deadpool continued to dominate American cinemas over the weekend, earning an estimated $44 million in its third week and besting newcomer Gods of Egypt, according to comScore estimates.

The total worldwide haul for 20th Century Fox’s comic book adaptation, starring Ryan Reynolds as Marvel’s foul-mouthed mercenary, now stands at $854.7 million.

Lionsgate’s Gods of Egypt, featuring Gerard Butler as a rebellious Egyptian god, debuted in second place with $19 million in the US.

The film, which reportedly cost $196 million to make and also stars Brenton Thwaites and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, is Hollywood’s first major flop of the year.

It’s fair to say the reviews for Gods of Egypt have been scathing.

“Watching Gods of Egypt is like willingly heating up a giant pot filled with diarrhoea until it’s as hot as liquid magma and then slowly dripping that stinky, scorching faecal juice into your eye sockets one drop at a time for two hours straight,” wrote Chris Sawin from the Examiner.

Justin Chang from Variety agreed: “This is by any measure a dreadful movie, a chintzy, CG-encrusted eyesore that oozes stupidity and self-indulgence from its every pore.”

According to Paul Dergarabedian, comScore’s senior media analyst: “Lionsgate went for it, and I think the unpredictability of this marketplace made it too tough for them.

“I think we’ll probably have to wait until Batman v Superman to see another massive opening weekend.”

Other newcomers that failed to topple Deadpool in the US this weekend included the feel-good Olympic tale Eddie the Eagle (which opens in Australia on April 21) in fifth place with $8.8 million and the heist romp Triple 9 (which opens in Australia on March 3) in sixth place with $8.5 million.