‘Beekeeper’ (And Hunter Biden Stand-In) Win Box Office Weekend

Jason Statham keeps cranking out action films regardless of their box office appeal.

For every hit like “Hobbs & Shaw” there are others that fail to draw a crowd. Think:

• “Expend4bles” – $16 million
• “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” – $6.4 million
• “Wrath of Man” – $27 million
• “The Mechanic: Resurrection” – $21 million

(All figures courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com)

His latest, “The Beekeeper,” is having a moment.

The film opened with a modest $16.5 million earlier this year, but it’s already hit $42 million and showing serious legs at the box office. This week’s tally, $7.4 million, made it the number one box office attraction in an admittedly weak field.

More interesting?

The film dropped just 13.7 percent from the previous week, a terrific hold for a film in any frame.

What’s happening?

It’s January, and we’re seeing a dearth of mainstream titles in the marketplace. That can’t be dismissed.

The story in play also matters.

Statham plays a former military asset named Adam Clay who tends to his bees in retirement. He’s lured back into action when a friend is swindled out of her life savings. His old skills help him mete out justice on his terms.

Along the way we meet a toxic First Son character played by Josh Hutcherson who snorts cocaine in the White House and leverages his family name for protection.

Sound familiar?

Director David Ayer (“Suicide Squad,” “End of Watch”) told Variety any similarities between Hutcherson’s character and Hunter Biden are coincidental.

“At the end of the day, it’s just an action movie,” he said. “The White House has a long and nonpartisan history of problematic First Family members.”

Ayer is a Hollywood veteran. He understands that connecting his film to the Biden family means any hope of positive press will vanish in a New York Minute.

Tell that to critics and movie goers.

A few reviewers summoned Hunter Biden’s name in their reviews. So did social media users.

THE BEEKEEPER
John Wick for old people who are scared of the internet and wish that their kids called them more.

Jason Statham steals someone’s gun and then beats them unconscious or kills them with it 8? times.
Also the main villain is undeniably supposed to be Hunter Biden. pic.twitter.com/IXDzVnAidD

— Patron Saint of Bugs in People (@M1seryfell) January 26, 2024

The film’s other selling point? The notion that the government isn’t on our side, something far too many Americans understand on an emotional level. Plus, Adam Clay’s ability to punish people who scam the elderly is cathartic in 2024.

Why?

A.I. technology has many, young and old, frightened of the future. And rightly so. The film’s scammers use sophisticated technology to dupe older Americans out of their life savings.

Plus, we too often see bad people get away with their terrible, no-good behavior in real life. Heck, Hunter Biden may end up skating on a crush of serious charges.

Not in “The Beekeeper.” Adam Clay makes sure anyone who steals from the innocent gets what’s coming to them. And then some.

It helps explain the film’s muscular 93 percent “fresh” rating from audiences at Rotten Tomatoes.com.

Should “The Beekeeper” hang around the box office charts a few more weeks we’ll likely see a sequel sooner than later.