Kevin Spacey's new film Billionaire Boys Club takes in just ￡99 on opening day
Kevin Spacey’s latest film – the last he made before being accused of sexual assault - had a dismal opening at the box office taking in just $126 (￡99) in its first day in cinemas.
Billionaire Boys Club received a drubbing from critics and had a muted release, opening in just 10 movie theatres across the US on Friday after appearing as a video-on-demand offering last month.
The Hollywood Reporter said the tiny takings suggested an average of fewer than two people per cinema bought tickets on its opening day. Analysts said it would not even break $1000 in its first weekend.
More than 30 men have come forward since November to say they were subjected to unwanted sexual advances by the actor during the past 30 years. British police are examining allegations made by six men in the UK.
Spacey, 59, has always denied the allegations made against him.
The Kevin Spacey revelations are shocking - but must we critics carry some blame?
Netflix fired him from the long-running House of Cards series when the allegations emerged. And his scenes in the film All the Money in the World were reshot with Christopher Plummer taking his role.
However Vertical Entertainment, the US distributor of Billionaire Boys Club, urged viewers not to let the allegations overshadow its film as it pressed ahead with the launch.
“We hope these distressing allegations pertaining to one person’s behaviour – that were not publicly known when the film was made almost 2.5 years ago – do not tarnish the release,” the company said in a statement during the run-up to its launch. “We don’t condone sexual harassment on any level and we fully support victims of it.”
The film features the Oscar-winner in a supporting role as Ron Levin, a con-man who was killed in a real-life Eighties murder case.
While some critics praised Spacey’s ability to play the bad guy, others delighted in pointing out parallels with real life.
“Billionaire Boys Club provides a strange coda to Spacey’s career – a half-baked morality tale about people who think they can get away with the impossible," wrote IndieWire. "Considering Spacey’s situation, it’s an appropriate finale to this possibly final stage of his career."