Jamie Foxx and Taron Egerton's 'Robin Hood' Movie Poised to Bomb at the Box Office

Things are already looking bleak for Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx's new Robin Hood movie, less than 24 hours after it hit theaters.

Robin Hood's official release date is Wednesday, Nov. 21, though it began playing early at some theaters through midnight screenings and other advance showings. The weeknight debut did not serve the movie well, according to box office analyst Jeff Bock, who had some cutting words for the film on Twitter.

"Robin Hood stole just $800k from patrons on Tuesday," he joked. "With a budget of $100M, Lionsgate may be homeless after this weekend unless the good pilgrims of the nation donate to the cause. Phone lines and internet caches are now open to swipe your pledge."

ROBIN HOOD stole just $800k from patrons on Tuesday. With a budget of $100M, Lionsgate may be homeless after this weekend unless the good pilgrims of the nation donate to the cause. Phone lines and internet caches are now open to swipe your pledge.

— Exhibitor Relations Co. (@ERCboxoffice) November 21, 2018

The movie did not get much kinder treatment elsewhere. In a review published by Vulture, critic Emily Yoshida described Robin Hood as "a thoroughly incoherent movie salad," while Todd McCarthy wrote for The Hollywood Reporter: "In a just world, everyone involved in this mess would be required to perform some sort of public penance."

Robin Hood suffers from many disadvantages, including the mid-week release, its natural comparison to last year's failed King Arthur film and a general lack of interest from the public. Still, it is strange to see it pull in less than a million dollars after Lionsgate shelled out so much money on advertising.

According to Variety, the studio pulled out all the stops on this ad campaign, spending more on commercials than any other studio on any other movie this week. The company spent an estimated $7.88 million to drum up interest in Robin Hood, and it seems like that might have been in vain.

Taking the film's concept more hypothetically, it seems strange that a movie about Robin Hood could do so poorly in 2018. Yoshida noted that it seems in line with the themes of the age to reinvent a hero who literally redistributes wealth and topples corrupt governments. Unfortunately, the sight of all the trailers and promotional material apparently drove that relevance right out of peoples' minds.

McCarthy also noted the attempt to add a non-white character to the Robin Hood canon, but wrote that this fell equally flat. He described Foxx's character as "an angry man from the Middle East who's gotten mixed up on the wrong side of a Crusade, or maybe just in the wrong movie."

Still, for those fans out there who did not want to stay up late on a Tuesday night, there is still hope. Robin Hood premieres officially on Wednesday night, and still stands of chance of catching up to its considerable budget, turning a profit and making an impression.