In 2025, Mel Gibson released his movie Flight Risk, which ended up being a box office flop, but fortunately, the director’s next upcoming movie has the chance to restore Gibson’s incredible box office streak. Since the late 1970s, Gibson has been a big name in Hollywood, starring in franchises like Mad Max and directing mᴀssive hits like Braveheart and The Pᴀssion of the Christ. Gibson’s on-screen roles have painted him as a memorable action hero, while his direction has led to incredible success both critically and financially. Ultimately, this makes Flight Risk’s failure even more surprising.
Gibson has directed six movies, four of which have been box office successes. Braveheart, The Pᴀssion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge all exceeded $100 million at the box office, with The Pᴀssion of the Christ making the most at $612 million. The first of his box office failures was the first feature film he directed, The Man Without A Face. In some ways, this performance can be chalked up to Gibson being new to directing. However, the second box office bomb, Flight Risk, doesn’t have a great excuse, and therefore, is a disappointment for such a notable director.
Why Flight Risk Underperformed At The Box Office & Broke A Mel Gibson Streak
What Flight Risk’s Box Office Means For Gibson
Flight Risk had the chance to succeed due to its star-studded cast and crew, and its intriguing premise, but the movie ended up doing rather poorly. On a budget of $25 million, it only grossed $38.5 million at the box office. On top of that, critics gave the film a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. In reality, this may be exactly why Flight Risk made so little money. With few critics actually recommending the film, audiences were probably not too eager to see it. Thus, Flight Risk was able to be easily forgotten, causing its box office earnings to stagnate.
In some ways, Flight Risk’s failure is par for the course. Not every movie that a director makes is going to be a hit. However, considering Gibson’s history of high box office performances, Flight Risk’s low earnings could be a bad omen. Perhaps Gibson has run out of ideas that are intriguing enough to bring in audiences. Equally likely, Flight Risk could have been a simple stroke of bad luck. Either way, Gibson’s recent flop could cast a shadow over him for the time being, making his next project far more important than before.
Mel Gibson’s Next Movie As Director Will Likely Be A Huge Hit
When The Pᴀssion Of The Christ 2 Is Coming Out
Fortunately, Gibson’s future already looks bright because his next movie is going to be The Resurrection of the Christ. As one might expect from the тιтle, this is going to be a sequel to Gibson’s 2004 hit. Based on how well The Pᴀssion of the Christ did 20 years ago, it seems likely that the sequel could be just as popular as its predecessor. Though trying to make $600 million again is like hoping for lightning to strike twice, The Pᴀssion of the Christ sequel certainly has an audience that Flight Risk could not expect to have.
This leaves a lot of time for audiences to stew on Flight Risk, yet it also offers space for viewers to get excited for the next Gibson movie
The only downside is that The Resurrection of the Christ will not be out for quite a while. According to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Gibson is hoping to start shooting his sequel next year, which means that it won’t actually release until 2027 most likely. This leaves a lot of time for audiences to stew on Flight Risk, yet it also offers space for viewers to get excited for the next Gibson movie. Either way, Mel Gibson’s box office trend should not be broken for too long.