Edward Zwick, director of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, spoke about the film’s poor performance at the box office.
Director Christopher McQuarrie’s first Jack Reacher movie, based on Lee Child’s bestselling books, was released in 2012.
The movie, starring Tom Cruise as a former army inspector, managed to attract the attention of the audience, even though it received some bad reviews from critics.
In the 2016 sequel, Zwick took over from McQuarrie and sat in the director’s chair.
Killed the series
Never Go Back centered on Jack Reacher returning to his old army base and trying to prove his innocence by uncovering the conspiracy against Major Susan Turner.
The movie failed and not only that, it killed the movie franchise.
The 71-year-old director also addressed the movie’s failure in his new book Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood, the 71-year-old director also addressed the movie’s failure.
Taking full responsibility for the action’s box office flop, the director admitted that his desire to put his own spin on the story drove audiences away.
“I only blame myself”
“Never Go Back, which I made with Tom Cruise in 2016, was a flop at the box office,” the director said, adding that he made a mistake when he thought audiences would like a cross between Jack Reacher and Paper Moon:
I only blame myself. I had a great time working with Cobie Smulders and I certainly don’t blame Tom for not being 6’2″ as novelist Lee Child described his heroine. If Tom calls to make a third movie together, I will definitely accept.
Shot with an estimated budget of 60 million dollars, the first Jack Reacher movie grossed 218.3 million dollars at the box office.
Revenue down compared to the first movie
Even though the critics didn’t like the movie very much, it was clear that the collaboration between McQuarrie and Cruise was a hit with the audience.
The sequel is again estimated to have a budget of 60 million dollars. In comparison, Never Go Back earned only $162.1 million worldwide.
While this does not make the movie a financial disaster, it is a significant drop compared to the first movie.
Oscar winner Edward Zwick is known for films such as Love & Other Drugs, Blood Diamond and Legends of the Fall.
