Juror #2 is performing well at the box office in spite of its limitations. Even though the project, which stars Nicholas Hoult as a juror facing a moral quandary, could be Clint Eastwood’s last movie, it has received minimal support from Warner Bros. Pictures in its domestic debut. A recent report suggested that it may never expand beyond a 50-theater limited run and that the distributor is not reporting their own box office numbers, in a move that could reflect doubt that it will perform well either commercially or as an awards contender.
Per Deadline, reporting from 35 theaters shows that Juror #2’s projected 3-day domestic opening weekend total is between $260,000 and $275,000, which is a solid per-screen average of roughly $7,500. To compare, the opening weekend per-screen average for Venom: The Last Dance, which cost more than 3 times Juror #2’s roughly $35 million budget, was $12,348, while the comparably budgeted Smile 2 has a per-screen average of $6,361.
Variety’s international box office report has also confirmed that Juror #2 has debuted with $5 million overseas in just six territories including France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
What This Means For Juror #2
The Clint Eastwood Movie’s Success Could Mean Expansion
One reason that Warner Bros. Pictures reportedly had no intention of expanding the Juror #2 release further could be the fact that Clint Eastwood’s movies have recently had diminishing critical and commercial returns. Of his five post-American Sniper directorial efforts, only two – Sully and Richard Jewell – were nominated for Oscars, and they only had one nomination apiece with zero wins. His most recent movie, 2021’s Cry Macho, was also a commercial disappointment, grossing $16.5 million against its $33 million budget in the pandemic-depressed marketplace.
However, his new outing could be a reversal of that trend. Its opening weekend success, combined with Juror #2 reviews landing the movie a near-perfect Certified Fresh 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes, could very well spell Oscar buzz for the movie, which features a star-studded cast that also includes Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, and Kiefer Sutherland. If its release continues to build momentum, it is entirely possible that Warner Bros. will reverse their decision and allow it to expand into a wider release.
Our Take On Juror #2’s Opening Weekend
The Future Looks Bright
Even if Juror #2 never expands further, its box office performance is remarkable on its own terms. In fact, it has turned out the highest opening weekend per-screen average for Eastwood since 2016’s Sully ($9,937), beating out The 15:17 to Paris ($4,126), The Mule ($6,765), Richard Jewell ($1,880), and Cry Macho ($1,115). Should this indeed be the director’s final movie, its commercial and critical prospects seem strong enough that he is going out with a bang rather than a whimper.