The Killer's Game

The Killer's Game
The Killer's Game
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	J. J. Perry
Screenplay by	Rand Ravich; James Coyne;
Based on	The Killer's Game; by Jay Bonansinga
Produced by	Andrew Lazar; Steve Richards; Kia Jam;
Starring	Dave Bautista; Sofia Boutella; Terry Crews; Scott Adkins; Marko Zaror; Pom Klementieff; Ben Kingsley;
Cinematography	Flavio Martínez Labiano
Edited by	Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir
Music by	Roque Baños
Production; companies	Mad Chance Productions; Endurance Media;
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release date	September 13, 2024;
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$2.7 million

The Killer's Game is a 2024 American action comedy film directed by J. J. Perry and written by Rand Ravich and James Coyne, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Jay Bonansinga. The film stars Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley.

The Killer's Game was released in the United States by Lionsgate on September 13, 2024.

Premise

When super-assassin Joe Flood finds out that he is suffering from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, he and his boss/mentor Zvi set up a lucrative contract for another assassin who hates him to end his life without warning. This will preempt the long, debiliating and painful death that Joe's illness has in store for him. However, Joe ends up not only finding out that a mixed-up lab report means he's actually perfectly healthy, but that his hitwoman doesn't care and is planning to murder him anyway. And an eclectic mix of other seasoned killers-for-hire complicates matters when they want to take out the initial assassin and get the huge contract windfall awaiting Joe's killer for themselves.

Cast

Dave Bautista as Joe Flood, a veteran assassin
Sofia Boutella as Maize, Joe's girlfriend
Terry Crews as Lovedahl, a hitman after Joe
Scott Adkins as Angus Mackenzie
Marko Zaror as Botas
Pom Klementieff as Marianna Antoinette, a mysterious woman who has put a hit out on Joe.
Ben Kingsley as Zvi, Joe's mentor
Alex Kingston as Sharon
Drew Galloway as Rory Mackenzie
Shaina West
Lucy Cork
Daniel Bernhardt as Radovan
Lee Hoon as Goyang, a hitman hired by Marianna to kill Joe
Raffaello Degruttola as Dr. Kagen, a doctor who initially diagnoses Joe with a terminal illness

Production

Early development

Originally titled Godforsaken, Rand Ravich wrote his adaptation of Jay Bonansinga's novel, The Killer's Game, on spec in the mid-1990s and sold his draft to New Line Cinema in December 1995.^[4]^[5] Intermedia would produce the film,^[6] with Rupert Wainwright attached to direct. Wesley Snipes was courted to star by July 2002. Production was expected to begin that fall.^[7] A month later, talks began with Mike van Diem to direct.^[8] New Line offered the film to a wide array of directors, including John Woo, Wolfgang Petersen, Alex Proyas, and Renny Harlin, but failed to attract any to sign on.

In August 2004, rights transitioned to Paramount Pictures; Intermedia and Andrew Lazar were attached to produce while Simon Kinberg handled rewrites.^[9] Michael Keaton was at one point attached to star, while Simon Crane and Pitof were considered to direct.^[10] Development came to a standstill in 2006 when Intermedia closed down.^[11]

Resurrection

By December 2015, Broad Green Pictures was in talks to acquire the rights.^[12] Come February 2018, STXfilms took over, hiring D.J. Caruso to direct and Jason Statham to lead.^[10] By April 2019, Statham exited and was replaced by Dave Bautista.^[13] Ice Cube joined the cast in June 2019.^[11] In September, Morena Baccarin and Kris Wu joined the cast. Caruso and Peter Landesman rewrote the script ahead of a planned production start of December 2, 2019 in the Dominican Republic.^[14]^[15] But, it appears there was miscommunication with regard to Morena Baccarin being a cast member as she is actually co-starring with Dave Bautista in The Wrecking Crew. An action-adventure film that will begin filming in New Zealand starting in October of 2024

Development quietly halted again until May 2023 when distribution rights shifted to Lionsgate, with J.J. Perry directing, and James Coyne to rewrite the script. The cast retained Bautista and Ice Cube, and added Sofia Boutella and Ben Kingsley.^[16]^[17] In July, Pom Klementieff, Scott Adkins, Drew McIntyre and Marko Zaror were among new additions to the cast.^[18]^[19] In March 2024, it was announced Terry Crews was to star, having replaced Cube.^[20]

Filming

Principal photography began in July 2023 in Budapest,^[21] having been granted an interim agreement waiver to proceed amid the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.^[22]

Final writing credits were submitted in November 2023; screenplay credit was given to Ravich and Coyne and the offscreen additional literary material credit was attributed to Caruso, Nick Cassavetes, John Joseph Connolly, Michael Dowse, Cory Goodman, Kinberg, Landesman, Brian Rudnick, and Kurt Wimmer.^[23]

Release

The Killer's Game was released in the United States and Canada on September 13, 2024.^[24]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The Killer's Game was released alongside Speak No Evil and Am I Racist?, and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,623 theaters in its opening weekend.^[25] The film made $1.06 million on its first day, including $300,000 from Thursday night previews.^[26] It went on to debut to $2.6 million, finishing in seventh.^[1]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 33% of 24 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.7/10.^[27] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 36 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.^[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 63% overall positive score, with 45% saying they would definitely recommend it.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 15, 2024). "'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Still The Ghost With The Most: Second Weekend At $51M+; 'The Killer's Game' Gets Whacked — Sunday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
^ "The Killer's Game – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
^ "The Killer's Game". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
^ Myers, Scott (June 11, 2012). "The Definitive Spec Script Deals List: 1995". Medium. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ Harris, Dana (October 11, 2000). "WB Taking Exit 135". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ Fleming, Michael (October 15, 2002). "Topliners Goose Mooseport". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ "In Brief: New York Festival Announces Opening and Closing Line-Up". The Guardian. July 24, 2002. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ "Elston Gunn's Weekly Recap". Ain't It Cool News. August 27, 2002. Retrieved January 23, 2004.
^ "'Game' now in Par's crosshairs". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Kit, Borys (February 13, 2018). "Jason Statham, D.J. Caruso in Talks for Killer's Game (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ ^a ^b Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 19, 2019). "Ice Cube Joins Covers, Negotiates To Team With Dave Bautista In The Killer's Game". Deadline. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ "Broad Green in Talks to Acquire 'Killer's Game' Movie Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ Sneider, Jeff (April 10, 2019). "Exclusive: Dave Bautista Attached to Star in STX Action-Thriller Killer's Game". Collider. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ Kay, Jeremy (September 2, 2019). "Dave Bautista, Ice Cube Thriller The Killer's Game Gets Start Date, Lands at Capstone for TIFF Sales (Exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ Maddison, Cooper (July 2, 2023). "Bautista's Action-Comedy Thriller The Killer's Game Review, Release Date, Cast, and More". Screen Daily. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
^ Grobar, Matt; Wiseman, Andreas (May 15, 2023). "Dave Bautista Set For Lionsgate Action Comedy The Killer's Game; 'Day Shift's JJ Perry Directing, With Studio To Launch Sales At Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
^ Grobar, Matt (May 19, 2023). "Ben Kingsley, Sofia Boutella Join Dave Bautista In Lionsgate Action Comedy The Killer's Game". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
^ Kroll, Justin (July 10, 2023). "Ice Cube To Star Opposite Dave Bautista In Action-Comedy Killer's Game". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^ Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror and More Enlist for Director JJ Perry's Actioner THE KILLER's GAME with Dave Bautista!
^ Galuppo, Mia (March 7, 2024). "Terry Crews Set for Dave Bautista Action-Comedy The Killer's Game". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
^ "Ice Cube Joins The Killer's Game, Set for Filming in Hungary". Budapest Reporter. July 17, 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
^ Keates, Emma (July 20, 2023). "Here are all the movies and shows that have been granted waivers to film during the strike". Yahoo. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "The Killer's Game Writing Credits". WGA Directory. November 27, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 20, 2024). "Lionsgate Dates Dave Bautista & Mark Wahlberg Movies For Fall; Gerard Butler's 'Den Of Thieves: Pantera' For 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
^ Rubin, Rebecca (11 September 2024). "Box Office: 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' to Lead Again as 'Speak No Evil' Targets $10 Million". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
^ Murphy, J. Kim (14 September 2024). "Box Office: 'Speak No Evil' Pipes in With $4.9 Million Opening Day, 'Beetlejuice 2' Still Shaking on Top". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
^ "The Killer's Game". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
^ "The Killer's Game". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 15, 2024.

External links

[opening-1] D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 15, 2024). "'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Still The Ghost With The Most: Second Weekend At $51M+; 'The Killer's Game' Gets Whacked — Sunday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 15, 2024.

[NUM-2] "The Killer's Game – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved September 16, 2024.

[BOM-3] "The Killer's Game". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 16, 2024.

[4] Myers, Scott (June 11, 2012). "The Definitive Spec Script Deals List: 1995". Medium. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[5] Harris, Dana (October 11, 2000). "WB Taking Exit 135". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[6] Fleming, Michael (October 15, 2002). "Topliners Goose Mooseport". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[7] "In Brief: New York Festival Announces Opening and Closing Line-Up". The Guardian. July 24, 2002. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[8] "Elston Gunn's Weekly Recap". Ain't It Cool News. August 27, 2002. Retrieved January 23, 2004.

[KillersGameVar-9] "'Game' now in Par's crosshairs". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2023.

[Statham_Caruso-10] Kit, Borys (February 13, 2018). "Jason Statham, D.J. Caruso in Talks for Killer's Game (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[Ice_Cube_KG-11] Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 19, 2019). "Ice Cube Joins Covers, Negotiates To Team With Dave Bautista In The Killer's Game". Deadline. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[KillersGameVar2-12] "Broad Green in Talks to Acquire 'Killer's Game' Movie Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2023.

[13] Sneider, Jeff (April 10, 2019). "Exclusive: Dave Bautista Attached to Star in STX Action-Thriller Killer's Game". Collider. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[14] Kay, Jeremy (September 2, 2019). "Dave Bautista, Ice Cube Thriller The Killer's Game Gets Start Date, Lands at Capstone for TIFF Sales (Exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[15] Maddison, Cooper (July 2, 2023). "Bautista's Action-Comedy Thriller The Killer's Game Review, Release Date, Cast, and More". Screen Daily. Retrieved August 23, 2024.

[16] Grobar, Matt; Wiseman, Andreas (May 15, 2023). "Dave Bautista Set For Lionsgate Action Comedy The Killer's Game; 'Day Shift's JJ Perry Directing, With Studio To Launch Sales At Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 May 2023.

[17] Grobar, Matt (May 19, 2023). "Ben Kingsley, Sofia Boutella Join Dave Bautista In Lionsgate Action Comedy The Killer's Game". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 May 2023.

[18] Kroll, Justin (July 10, 2023). "Ice Cube To Star Opposite Dave Bautista In Action-Comedy Killer's Game". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 July 2023.

[19] Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror and More Enlist for Director JJ Perry's Actioner THE KILLER's GAME with Dave Bautista!

[20] Galuppo, Mia (March 7, 2024). "Terry Crews Set for Dave Bautista Action-Comedy The Killer's Game". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 March 2024.

[21] "Ice Cube Joins The Killer's Game, Set for Filming in Hungary". Budapest Reporter. July 17, 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.

[YahooWaivers-22] Keates, Emma (July 20, 2023). "Here are all the movies and shows that have been granted waivers to film during the strike". Yahoo. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[23] "The Killer's Game Writing Credits". WGA Directory. November 27, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[24] D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 20, 2024). "Lionsgate Dates Dave Bautista & Mark Wahlberg Movies For Fall; Gerard Butler's 'Den Of Thieves: Pantera' For 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 21, 2024.

[25] Rubin, Rebecca (11 September 2024). "Box Office: 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' to Lead Again as 'Speak No Evil' Targets $10 Million". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2024.

[26] Murphy, J. Kim (14 September 2024). "Box Office: 'Speak No Evil' Pipes in With $4.9 Million Opening Day, 'Beetlejuice 2' Still Shaking on Top". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2024.

[Rotten_Tomatoes-27] "The Killer's Game". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 15, 2024.

[Metacritic-28] "The Killer's Game". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 15, 2024.

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The Killer's Game

Premise

Cast

Production

Early development

Resurrection

Filming

Release

Reception

Box office

Critical response

References

External links

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