Summary
- Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, directed by Edward Zwick, failed at the box office, with a poor $162.1 million gross, effectively ending the franchise.
- Zwick takes responsibility for the failure, admitting his mistake in trying to mix the tones of Jack Reacher and Paper Moon, realizing audiences wanted more action.
- The Jack Reacher series on Prime Video has found success by staying faithful to the novels and featuring Alan Ritchson as the perfect embodiment of the character. Season 3 is currently in production.
Reacher has been a runaway success for Prime Video, but the character seemed destined to be known for being a box office drip thanks to Tom Cruise’s second outing as Lee Child’s action hero in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Addressing the poor performance of the movie in his new book, director Edward Zwick opened up about blaming himself for the film’s critical and financial failings.
Jack Reacher 2
- Release Date
- October 19, 2016
- Runtime
- 118
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
- Tagline
- Never give in, never give up, never go back.
Christopher McQuarrie directed the original outing entitled Jack Reacher in 2012, with Zwick stepping in to take the helm for the sequel four years later. The decision proved to be a huge misstep for everyone concerned, with the movie landing a poor $162.1 million as its total gross, and effectively ended the franchise. As shared by Variety, Zwick has accepted the responsibility for the failure of the movie in his new book, Hits, Flops and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood. He wrote:
“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which Tom Cruise and I made in 2016, fizzled at the box office. I blame myself (and my willing accomplice, Don Granger) for thinking the audience might enjoy a mash-up of Jack Reacher and Paper Moon, when in fact they just wanted more red meat. I had a wonderful time working with Cobie Smulders, and I certainly don’t blame Tom for not being six two — as the novelist Lee Child described his protagonist — and should Tom happen to call about making a third movie together, I’ll definitely pick up.”
Jack Reacher Has Found Success on Prime Video
For many Reacher fans, there was one fundamental problem with Tom Cruise’s appearances as Reacher – he just didn’t match the physical description of the character that fans demanded. Cruise was able to pull off his usual displace of charisma and stunts, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back took a hefty amount of criticism for having a lack of energy and being overly predictable.
However, the end of the movie franchise left the way open for someone else to step in and take a shot at bringing the mercenary tough guy to screens again. And that has been done with aplomb by the team behind Prime Video’s Reacher series.
More faithful to Child’s novels, and delivering the perfect embodiment of Jack Reacher in lead Alan Ritchson, the series has achieved huge success across its first two seasons, even if the most recent didn’t quite manage to hit the heights of its predecessor. However, Season 3 of Reacher is currently in production, and will no doubt be looking to break the records set by Season 2.
Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back are both streaming on Paramount+. Reacher Season1 and Season 2 are available on Prime Video.
