Charlie's Angels opened in 2019 to mixed reviews, underperforming at the box office and being largely forgotten in the months that followed. With an $8 million opening weekend on a budget of $48 million, the movie went on to gross only $73 million at the global box office on a reported budget of around $50 million.
It was a shame as the franchise has potential (especially with a cast led by Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska) but not helping matters was the sheer amount of negativity surrounding the reboot before it was released.
At the time, star and director Elizabeth Banks wondered if moviegoers simply didn't want a female-led action movie. Now, though, she's spoken to The New York Times and suggested that "there was a disconnect on the marketing side" in the sense it was marketed primarily towards women.
As a result, Banks feels that many overlooked what they thought was a movie that was more interested in spreading feminist messages than being the fun action flick Banks intended.
"Let me say I’m proud of the movie. I loved Kristen Stewart being funny and light. I loved introducing Ella Balinska to the world. I loved working with Patrick Stewart. It was an incredible experience," Banks says. "It was very stressful, partly because when women do things in Hollywood it becomes this story. There was a story around 'Charlie’s Angels' that I was creating some feminist manifesto. I was just making an action movie."
"I would’ve liked to have made 'Mission: Impossible,' but women aren’t directing 'Mission: Impossible.' I was able to direct an action movie, frankly, because it starred women and I’m a female director, and that is the confine right now in Hollywood," the filmmaker continues. "I wish that the movie had not been presented as just for girls, because I didn’t make it just for girls. There was a disconnect on the marketing side of it for me."
It's easy to see why Banks is frustrated, and the movie's disappointing performance will have only reinforced the idea that female-led action movies don't do business. Hopefully, one will come along that's a hit (not involving a superhero), though we doubt the Charlie's Angels franchise will be revised anytime soon.
What did you guys think about the 2019 movie?