Guy Ritchie's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is Not a Flop Despite Making Only $9 Million
Maybe it's the curse that makes Ritchie's great movies fail at the box office.
Summary
- Guy Ritchie 's new movie has been finally released.
- It is an action-comedy set in the WWII era, which performed poorly at the global box office.
- Despite the commercial failure, viewers and audiences have come to love it.
Guy Ritchie is one of the most recognizable British auteurs, thanks to his bold narratives that are a kind of Quentin Tarantino- esque stories framed by British humor and set in a British working-class and criminal milieu (but as we know, the filmmaker often touches on other settings, from the Matter of Britain and 60s espionage stories to Disney 's Aladdin and modern warfare).
However, despite his colossal contribution to pop culture, which rivals that of the aforementioned Tarantino, Guy Ritchie's films are far from box office success. While many of his films have indeed made huge sums of money at the worldwide box office, there are also plenty of absolute commercial failures despite warm reviews from audiences, such as RocknRolla, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and the recent The Covenant.
The same seems to be the case with Ritchie's new big screen project, the feature length film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Although it was released less than a week ago, the box office numbers are far from reassuring, but the movie has delighted audiences and even impressed many critics.
What Is Guy Ritchie's New Movie About?
The comparisons to Quentin Tarantino are not at all coincidental, as Guy Ritchie's new film may remind many of Inglourious Basterds. Just like it, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare brings a breath of fresh air to the WWII movie genre thanks to the same amounts of testosterone, brutality, fun, classic Western atmosphere and even relative historical accuracy.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is an action comedy film directed and co-written by Guy Ritchie with Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson from a screenplay by Arash Amel. The story is based on Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis.
The story revolves around the so-called Special Operations Executive, a secret British organization sent to Europe by Brigadier Colin Gubbins and Winston Churchill to spy and sabotage against Nazi Germany. The story covers the fictionalized events of Operation Postmaster, in which SOE agents were to hijack Italian and German ships.
The movie stars Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding and Alex Pettyfer.
A Bad Start at the Box Office
Although the movie was released only 5 days ago, on April 19, 2024, it seems to be another Guy Ritchie box office bomb. With a budget of $60 million, the movie was expected to make $5-8 million in its opening weekend, but it only made $3.7 million in its first day.
As of April 24, the worldwide box office stands at a measly $9.9 million, with worldwide distribution accounting for only 4.2% of that total, earning only about $419,000.
A Flop or an Unrecognized Gem?
While the critical and audience reviews of many of Ritchie's failed films have matched their commercial failures (such as Revolver and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has surprisingly received very positive reviews.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an impressive audience score of 93%, making it one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2024. As usual with Guy Ritchie's work, the critics' verdict is a little cooler, but not overwhelming, at 72%.
Many have commented on how engaging the movie is despite its two-hour running time, and how it entertains thanks to a straightforward plot full of humor and great action scenes where the heroes shoot Nazis. All in all, it's a refreshing WWII flick that pays homage to classics like The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare.