In the aftermath of a disappointing opening weekend for the R-rated action thriller MUTINY starring Jason Statham, some are pointing the finger at its distributor Amazon/MGM as responsible for the underperformance. Specifically, the film became available on Amazon Prime Video a few days before its theatrical releases. The movie grossed $7.7 million in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend, less than half the sales of other recent Statham releases such as A WORKING MAN and THE BEEKEEPER.
The film’s producers said that its performance was a surprise, given the fact that pre-release polls of potential moviegoers pointed in the direction of MUTINY achieving similar results to Statham’s last two releases. Unfortunately, the film's leak to Amazon Prime meant that a high-quality version of the movie was available to watch at home when it opened in theatres. Despite Amazon quickly removing the film from its streaming platform, research from ant-piracy outlet Torrentfreak indicates that MUTINY was the most pirated film last week. Both Statham himself and MUTINY’s international distributor Lionsgate are said to be “furious” at Amazon/MGM for the leak, and seeking some financial remedy for the unexpectedly low box office sales.
