Over the recent years many film critics and fans alike have lambasted Bruce Willis’ choice of movie roles and growing number of straight to VOD (Video on Demand) films.
We take a look at Willis’ highest grossing films and Box office ‘flops.’
The Sixth Sense (1999) – Hit
In 1999 Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. now known as Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures released the The Sixth Sense which stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient (Haley Joel Osment) can speak to the dead.
The cast’s performance was highly praised by critics and the film went on to become the highest grossing film of 1999, raking in a total of $672.8 million worldwide.
The Last Man Standing (1996) - Miss
Released in 1996, this is a story about a mysterious wanderer named John Smith (Willis) who ‘rolls’ into the small town of Jericho during prohibition-era Texas and finds himself at loggerheads with local gangs.
This production was considered to be a ‘Box office bomb’ as it managed to gross only $18,127,448 in the United States and $47,267,001 worldwide having a budget of $67 million.
One film critic had this to say:
“Last Man Standing” is such a desperately cheerless film, so dry and laconic and wrung out, that you wonder if the filmmakers ever thought that in any way it could be ... fun.”
Armageddon (1998) – Hit
Perhaps one of Willis’ most popular films. When NASA discovers that a giant asteroid is about to hit the face of the earth, they hire what seems to be a misfit team of deep core drillers led by Harry S. Stamper (Willis) to save the earth.
With a mammoth budget of $140 million the film performed well as expected, bringing in $553.7 million worldwide and becoming the highest grossing film of that year.
Death Wish (2018) - Miss
A trauma surgeon, Dr. Paul Kersey, embarks on a mission for revenge after an attack on his family.
The protagonist plays a vigilante seeking retribution for the death of his wife and daughter who is in a coma. The film was however not received well, mainly because of bad-timing as Americans were discussing gun-laws and faced with mass-shootings. It only grossed $49.6 million worldwide.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 18% based on 155 reviews and an average rating of 3.88/10. The site's review reads "Death Wish is little more than a rote retelling that lacks the grit and conviction of the original—and also suffers from spectacularly bad timing.
Regardless of what the gallery may say, Bruce at 106 films later and 43 years in the industry, continues to perfect his art and will never be written off the books.
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