In a sea of disappointing sequels, one of them unfortunately has to be deemed as sinking to the very bottom of the barrel, and 2023’s reigning champion so far has proven to be Meg 2: The Trench.
A 29 percent Rotten Tomatoes score places Jason Statham’s latest battle against hulking prehistoric predators as the lowest-rated effects-heavy follow-up to hit theaters this summer, even if it’s proven to be so profitable that Meg 3 can’t be ruled out by any stretch.
Sure, it may be disappointing on domestic shores having only rustled up $68 million from domestic screens, but a robust international performance has placed its worldwide haul north of $320 million, with almost a third of that coming from China alone.
However, it’s time to stick a fork in The Trench in the United States at least, with Warner Bros. confirming that Ben Wheatley’s ill-fated leap into the realm of studio fare is landing on digital and VOD tomorrow, precisely three weeks after it first swam into multiplexes nationwide.
That’s quite the rapid turnaround for a film that’s estimated to have cost almost $130 million, but WB must be of the belief that Statham’s days of drawing in a decent-sized audience are numbered after only 21 days. It’s not exactly going to be the death knell for a threequel when it continues to chomp down on those international earnings, but it’s curious that the studio is shunting it onto home video so quickly, especially when Blue Beetle opened lower and is getting the benefit of an extra week of big screen exclusivity.