Robert Downey Jr.’s Dolittle Is Officially 2020’s First Box Office Bomb

Mere weeks after the release of Tom Hooper’s Cats, another critically panned talking animal movie is currently bombing at the box office.

Variety reports that Stephen Gaghan’s Dolittle lost out on the number one spot this weekend to Bad Boys for Life, grossing just $22 million domestically. Over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, Robert Downey Jr.’s first post-Marvel project is projected to take in $30 million – a bad sign for a movie with an estimated budget nearing $180 million.

Dolittle’s high production costs stem in part from the film’s extensive reshoots. The feature was originally expected to premiere last May, but was delayed twice due to production difficulties.

As it stands, the movie’s global total sits at a reported $57.3 million, meaning the film would need to have some serious staying power to earn back Universal’s money. And with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 18% and a less-than-spectacular CinemaScore of B, we somehow doubt that’s going to be the case.

Meanwhile, these past few days have shaped up to be a lot more favorable for Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s Bad Boys for Life, which has earned the strongest reviews of any Bad Boys movie to date and is expected to cross the $68 million mark domestically by the end of the long weekend.

In its first three days, the buddy cop threequel took in $59 million, surpassing previous projections that ranged from $38 million to $45 million. This domestic haul gives Bad Boys for Life the second-biggest January opening ever, falling behind only 2014’s American Sniper.

It therefore comes as no surprise to hear that a fourth Bad Boys movie has already been announced, though anyone still hoping for another Dolittle film probably shouldn’t hold their breath.