‘Boy Kills World’ Domestic Box Office Fails to Land a Punch

Boy has landed many punches in his quest to avenge his family, but the same can’t be said about Boy Kills World. The Roadside Attractions film struggled to crack a Top 10 spot in last weekend’s domestic box office race, being out-earned by Alien, a 45-year-old film that Disney released. The final tally had Boy Kills World at $1.6 million, while the Ridley Scott-directed Alien grossed $1.78 million. Alien landed on the bottom of the Top 10 list, which Boy Kills World did not manage. The film is 60% on Rotten Tomatoes from 113 critic reviews and a B- on Cinema Score. Audience-wise, the film attracted 70% male viewers, and 60% of the audience was in the 18-34 age demo. The film’s budget is unreported, but unless it was made for $4 million (highly unlikely), these numbers spell doom if it doesn’t improve.

There was significant competition this weekend, with Luca Guadaningno‘s latest venture, Challengers, opening at $15 million domestically and $25 million globally. The saucy sports movie is Guadagigno’s, and it stars Zendaya, biggest opening ever, excluding IP movies like Dune or Spider-Man. It opened in 52 markets and is expected to expand into more markets soon. Competition is bound to increase when TheFall Guy bows in stateside next week.

Disney re-released Alien after 45 years, and the opening numbers were quite impressive. At $1.78 m, the film landed in the Top 10 and brought the gross haul for the film to $83.8 million, with the original number not adjusted for inflation. This release warms the seat for Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede Alvarez, which is set to premiere in theatres on August 6. 4/26 also marks a special day for Alien fans, officially named Alien Day.

What is ‘Boy Kills World’ About?

Bill Skarsgard stars in the film as Boy, a young deaf man on the quest for vengeance in a post-apocalyptic world. Boy sets his sights on Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the leader of the land who is responsible for the death of his parents. He seeks to avenge them while liberating the rest of the population from her tyrannical rule. Other cast members include Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Yayan Ruhian, and Nicholas Crovetti.

In his review of the film, Collider’s Nate Richard liked the world-building, design, and action sequences. However, the film felt like a ripoff of movies like Deadpool, but without being as polished. The sticking point was that the film was messy. It never knew what to do genre-wise, and when it wades into comedy, it loses the viewer.

Boy Kills World is now in theaters.

Boy Kills World

A dystopian fever dream action film that follows Boy, a deaf person with a vibrant imagination. When his family is murdered, he is trained by a mysterious shaman to repress his childish imagination and become an instrument of death.

Release Date

April 26, 2024

Director

Moritz Mohr

Runtime

115 Minutes

Writers

Tyler Burton Smith , Arend Remmers , Moritz Mohr

GET TICKETS