Jason Statham's 2024 Action Movie Hit Shows How To Save His $840 Million Franchise

Summary Statham's star power shines in $152.7 million box office hit, proving his value as a leading man in action films.

The Beekeeper showcases Statham's draw with critics and fans, outshining even established franchise names.

Expendables 4 may have flopped, but Statham's potential as the franchise's new face is undeniable, paving the way for success.

Known for portraying gritty action heroes, actor Jason Statham is one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. After leading heist thrillers like Crank and The Italian Job, Statham landed roles in two of the biggest ensemble action movie series ever: The Expendables and the Fast & Furious. In the latter, he plays Deckard Shaw, a former UKSF soldier and MI6 agent who initially has it out for Vin Diesel's Dominic "Dom" Toretto. While Statham has even co-starred in the Fast & Furious spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw, he continues to lead non-franchise action flicks too.

Statham is still one of the industry's most coveted leading men.

With cameos in Fast 9 and Fast X, Statham has channeled his star power into 2023's Expend4bles, which also sees him serving as a producer, and fresh blockbusters like The Meg. While none of those films are necessarily critical darlings, they are box office smashes, proving that Statham is still one of the industry's most coveted leading men. That said, the star's most recent action movie hit, which generated $152.7 million at the box office, shows that Statham is the key to saving one of his own $840 million action-thriller franchises.

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The Beekeeper's Box Office Proves Expendables Becoming A Jason Statham Franchise Would Work

The Beekeeper Made $152.7 Million At The Global Box Office

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Throughout the first decade or so of his film career, Jason Statham generated over $1.5 billion in ticket sales (via BBC), and 2024's The Beekeeper shows that the action star's draw is as huge as ever before. Against a $40 million budget, The Beekeeper generated a whopping $152.7 million at the worldwide box office. Not to mention, the action flick received acclaim from critics and genre fans alike, and boasts an impressive 71% certified fresh rating. In the film, Statham's Adam Clay, a former "Beekeeper" agent, exacts revenge on the scammers responsible for the death of his landlady.

2:04 Related Jason Statham's 10 Highest-Grossing Movies At The Box Office Jason Statham is a major fixture in the Hollywood action scene, and going by the box office figures, he'll continue to lead the way for action stars.

Expend4bles attempted to pass the torch from Sylvester Stallone to Statham...

The premise, and Statham's justice-driven character, are extremely straightforward, allowing the action flick to focus on fun set pieces and combat sequences. A completely original story, viewers are left wanting to know more about whom the Beekeepers are in the film's lore. Needless to say, The Beekeeper proves that Statham's star power is potentially more valuable than a well-known franchise's name. Expend4bles (also known as Expendables 4) attempted to pass the torch from Sylvester Stallone to Statham, but wound up becoming a massive flop. Clearly, the fourth Expendables flick didn't flop because of Statham.

The Beekeeper The Beekeeper is a 2024 action-thriller film by director David Ayer. Jason Statham stars as "Mr. Clay," a former member of a secret organization known as the "Beekeepers," who steps back into the field after a close friend is wronged in a phishing scam. To set things right, Mr. Clay will wage a violent war as he discovers that the truth behind the scammers may be more sinister than he realized. Director David Ayer Release Date January 12, 2024 Studio(s) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , MiraMax , Cedar Park Studios , Punch Palace Productions Distributor(s) Amazon MGM Studios Writers Kurt Wimmer Cast Jason Statham , Emmy Raver-Lampman , Josh Hutcherson , Bobby Naderi , Minnie Driver , Phylicia Rashad , Jeremy Irons

Expendables 5 Needs To Fully Embrace Jason Statham (& Forget Sylvester Stallone) To Succeed

Expendables Needs To Move Forward With Lee Christmas As Its Lead

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Coming nearly a decade after the third Expendables movie, Expendables 4's ensemble cast boasts not just Statham and Stallone, but Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais and Andy García, among many other big-name Hollywood action stars. In the film's opening sequence, Stallone's Barney Ross, the leader of the Expendables team, seemingly dies. This pushes Statham's Lee Christmas, the team's knife expert and second in command, to step up. The narrative twist was meant to prepare viewers for Stallone stepping down from the Expendables franchise altogether.

Related Jason Statham Needs The Beekeeper 2 To Break A Bad Sequel Streak After $150 Million Hit The Beekeeper 2 has yet to be announced, but the sequel to the $150 million hit can help Jason Statham break a bad sequel streak at the box office.

The fourth Expendables outing grossed just $51.1 million worldwide against a budget of $100 million.

Statham, who also oversaw the film's post-production and served as a producer, is clearly primed to be the next Stallone. Unfortunately, Expendables 4's box office performance tells a different story. The fourth outing grossed just $51.1 million worldwide against a budget of $100 million. A massive box office flop, Expendables 4 was far from the commercial success Lionsgate had anticipated. However, mega hits like The Beekeeper and The Meg 2: The Trench, which made a staggering $397.7 million worldwide, prove that going all in on Statham isn't the Expendables' problem.

Expend4bles The Expendables 4 is the fourth entry in the action legacy-hero franchise, bringing together famous action-hero stars from the past and present to battle international terrorist threats. This fourth entry sees the mercenary group dragged into a catastrophic nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia, forcing them to intervene. Director Scott Waugh Release Date September 22, 2023 Studio(s) Millennium Media , Campbell Grobman Films Distributor(s) Lionsgate Writers Spenser Cohen , John Joseph Connolly , Max Adams Cast Dolph Lundgren , Randy Couture , Eddie Hall , Sylvester Stallone , Levy Tran , Iko Uwais , tony jaa , Sheila Shah , Jacob Scipio , Jason Statham , Andy Garcia , Megan Fox , 50 Cent Runtime 103 Minutes Franchise(s) The Expendables prequel(s) The Expendables , The Expendables 2 , The Expendables 3 Budget $100 million

Jason Statham Should Bring David Ayer To Direct Expendables 5 After The Beekeeper

Statham Has Found Massive Success Outside Of The Expendables Franchise

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Beekeeper director David Ayer made a name for himself in the world of crime-thriller films with enduring hits like The Fast and the Furious and S.W.A.T. In the wake of The Beekeeper's success, Ayer and Statham have signed on to make another action thriller together, Levon's Trade. Originally, Stallone worked to adapt Levon's Trade's source material, providing yet another link between the action vets. Needless to say, it would be smart for David Ayer and Jason Statham to extend their partnership to Expendables 5 — if it ever happens.

The Beekeeper is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.