Filmmakers being forced to watch from the sidelines as their latest project crashes and burns at the box office can’t be a nice feeling, especially when it’s caused by circumstances completely outwith their control. Irrespective of the talent attached on either side of the camera, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre was virtually doomed from the minute it was given a release date.
Even though Guy Ritchie had been on something of a hot streak with the critically and commercially well-received duo of The Gentlemen and Wrath of Man, while his chops in delivering top-tier espionage antics were already established through the underrated The Man from U.N.C.L.E., not even a light and frothy caper with a cavalcade of big names could save Operation Fortune from disaster.
Originally announced for a January 2022 release date, behind the scenes restructuring at STX Entertainment effectively killed any chances the movie had at finding sustained success. After virtual radio silence for what felt like forever, it was announced out of the blue that the first installment of what could have comfortably been a franchise would hit theaters at the beginning of this month, where it was sent out to die with barely a marketing campaign to speak of.
Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Hugh Grant, Cary Elwes, Josh Hartnett, and the rest of the ensemble clearly had a great time making the film, and that infectious enthusiasm carried over to the screen. However, Operation Fortune failed to recoup its budget from theaters before being dumped on digital and VOD, where it’s at least managing to find an audience.
Per FlixPatrol, Ruse de Guerre is riding the crest of a wave as a Top 10 hit on both Amazon and iTunes in the United States, even if we’re never going to get the sequel that it definitely deserved to spawn.
