Jason Statham’s The Beekeeper is a clear winner for audiences, marking a crucial Rotten Tomatoes record for the actor. The R-rated action thriller follows Statham’s Adam Clay, a retired member of a secret organization known as the “Beekeepers.” When his friend dies after suffering from a scam, he goes on a mission to track down and eliminate the scammers. Alongside Statham, the cast features Josh Hutcherson, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jeremy Irons, Minnie Driver, and more leading actors. Critical reviews for The Beekeeper have been mixed to positive, and the reception is only getting better with the movie now available in theaters.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently sits with an audience score of 92%, much higher than the critical score of only 67%. Over 250 general reviews were calculated for the audience score, which could fluctuate as more ratings are tabulated. Nevertheless, it is now one of Statham’s most successful movies among audiences. The other Statham movies to have performed better with the public are 1998’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and 2000’s Snatch, which both have an audience score of 93%. The Beekeeper has moved into a sound third place, having displaced Wrath of Man, which boasts a 90% score.
The Beekeeper Is A Huge Change For Statham
The Beekeeper is breaking a Rotten Tomatoes trend for Statham. Although the movie holds a critical score of 67%, it still performs better than many of his previous projects, especially in comparison to his 2023 releases. Expend4bles and Meg 2: The Trench disappointed critics, earning a mere 14% and 27%, respectively. Statham’s other 2023 releases, Fast X and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, fared better with critics with 56% and 51%, respectively, but it otherwise shows a poor trend for the actor in 2023.
In addition to the critical and audience reception, the new action movie is doing relatively well at the box office. The Beekeeper is projected to earn $16.8 million at the domestic box office. This is way above the early estimates of $8 million to $13 million, showing that the movie is performing better than expected. In addition, the action movie is already doing better than Expend4bles, as the 2023 film domestically made $16 million during its total box office run.
With The Beekeeper on track to become a success, this has opened the potential for sequels and a rising franchise. Both Statham and director David Ayer have expressed their interest in making more movies to explore the origins of the titular organization and the protagonist, Adam. The Beekeeper ending also opens up those possibilities as Statham’s character survives the movie’s events. With the audience clearly loving the actor’s new action flick, those chances are looking very good.