How Well Did Clint Eastwood’s “Cry Macho” Do At The Box Office?
on Sep 20, 2021 • Updated Jan 26, 2023
91-year-old Clint Eastwood just released a new movie on Friday (September 17). Called Cry Macho, Eastwood not only stars in the film, but he also serves as its director and producer.
Cry Macho marks Eastwood’s long-awaited return to the Western genre. Country music singer Dwight Yoakam also has a starring role in the film.
See Clint Eastwood Return to His Cowboy Ways in First Look at His New Film Cry Macho https://t.co/RBNjSpmJ0U 📷: Claire Folger pic.twitter.com/onppACaToJ
— People (@people) August 5, 2021
Leading up to Cry Macho‘s release, Eastwood spoke to those who may think he’s too old to still be acting:
“I don’t look like I did at 20, so what?” he told the Los Angeles Times in an interview. “That just means there are more interesting guys you can play.”
Even though Eastwood’s fans were excited to see Cry Macho, the film generated mixed reviews following its opening weekend. As of this writing, it has a 50% “fresh” rating from critics on the review website Rotten Tomatoes. Audience members who submitted reviews to Rotten Tomatoes gave it an average of 3.7 out of 5 stars.
Unfortunately, the film didn’t have a strong opening weekend at the box office. Variety reports that Cry Macho earned $4.5 million over its opening weekend. The movie had a $33 million budget.
David A. Gross of the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research spoke with Variety about Cry Macho‘s opening weekend. Gross listed the reasons why he believes the film underperformed at the box office:
“This is a weak opening in the face of two formidable obstacles: Older moviegoers are not yet ready to return to the movies in force, and the film is available at home.” Gross said. He then went on to add, “But with soft reviews, even in normal times, the movie would be opening below average for a Clint Eastwood Western drama.“
Like Gross said, Cry Macho was also made available for streaming on HBO Max, which could be a reason why few people watched it in theaters.
Despite its low earnings, Cry Macho was the third best-performing film at the box office over its opening weekend.
Did you go see Cry Macho in theaters, or did you decide to watch it at home? If you haven’t seen the movie yet, be sure to check out its official trailer below.