Kevin Spacey is officially box-office poison. In the last few months, the actor has receded from the spotlight after being accused of sexual misconduct by actor Anthony Rapp, who said he was just 14 when 26-year-old Spacey harassed him, as well as several House of Cards employees. (Spacey has publicly apologized to Rapp, though he said he doesnt remember the night in question; he has since said he is seeking evaluation and treatment.)
Following the allegations, Spaceys career quickly ground to a halt. The formerly exalted, Oscar-winning actor was bumped from House of Cards, replaced by Christopher Plummer in All the Money in the World, and saw his already-wrapped Gore Vidal biopic scrapped completely. If those projects had not been canceled or moved away from Spacey, what would have happened to them? For answers, look no further than Billionaire Boys Club—the last completed film Spacey made before the accusations went public. This past weekend, the drama, which also stars Ansel Elgort and Taron Egerton, made a paltry $126 on Friday, its first day after opening in just eight theaters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The indie earned slightly more on Saturday, making $162. It was previously released on-demand last month, which may have also hampered its theatrical release—though of course, the circumstances surrounding this film are thoroughly singular. The 1980s-set movie stars Spacey as Ron Levin, a Beverly Hills con man. In his review, Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson said that Billionaire would have been forgettable dreck had it not been for the Spacey scandal. But Spaceys fall only amplifies the ways in which the movie doesnt work, and casts certain aspects of it in a new and terrible light. Theres one scene in particular in which Spaceys character menacingly hits on Elgort and Egertons much younger characters, echoing the real-life accusations against Spacey. “Its an intensely strange and bad scene—one that I think would play that way even without the real-world Spacey stuff reflecting hideously on it,” Lawson wrote.
Per T.H.R., the film played in theaters in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, Phoenix, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Orleans, the Hartford/New Haven area, Cleveland, Chicago, and Miami and Sarasota, Florida. It performed best on Friday in Middletown, Connecticut, picking up $45.
Vertical Entertainment, the films distributor, released a statement about the theatrical plan back in June, saying that the choice to release the film was “neither an easy nor insensitive decision.”
“We hope these distressing allegations pertaining to one persons behavior—that were not publicly known when the film was made almost two and a half years ago and from someone who has a small, supporting role in Billionaire Boys Club—does not tarnish the release of the film,” the statement read. “In the end, we hope audiences make up their own minds as to the reprehensible allegations of one persons past, but not at the expense of the entire cast and crew present on this film.”
Thus far, it looks like audiences have done just that.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Yohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
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