Mark Wahlberg & Mel Gibson’s New Action Movie Has Broken A 30-Year Box Office Streak

Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk is one of his worst performers at the global box office and breaks a success streak that’s lasted three straight decades. Even though Flight Risk features Mark Wahlberg in a rare villain role, the film failed to bring in a strong box office, earning just $34.66 million worldwide since its theatrical release date of January 24, 2025 (via Box Office Mojo). Solid performances by Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace could save Flight Risk from disaster.

With Flight Risk available to purchase and rent on digital VOD on February 14, 2025, the Gibson and Wahlberg collaboration could become an at-home streaming hit. Other recent films such as Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 found much more success on the small screen than on the big screen, an achievement that Flight Risk hopes to emulate. Regardless, Flight Risk snaps an impressive record for Gibson-directed movies.

Flight Risk Breaks A Mel Gibson Streak That Started With Braveheart

All Gibson’s Films Since 1995 Have Made More Than $100 Million

Since Braveheart was ​​​​​released in 1995, every movie Mel Gibson directed has made over $100 million at the box office. With Flight Risk gradually approaching a $35 million box office total ahead of its VOD release, it’s safe to say that Gibson’s 30-year streak is officially over. Flight Risk may not even surpᴀss the box office total of Gibson’s directorial debut, 1993’s The Man Without a Face, which earned $36.6 million worldwide.

Gibson Film

RT Critic Score

Worldwide Box Office

The Man Without a Face

68%

$36.6 million

Braveheart

76%

$209 million

The Pᴀssion of the Christ

50%

$612 million

Apocalypto

65%

$120.65 million

Hacksaw Ridge

84%

$180.5 million

Flight Risk

29%

$34.66 million

At 29%, Flight Risk has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of any Gibson film. Based on the numbers alone, Flight Risk is the worst-performing and lowest-rated film he’s ever directed, which is stunning considering the Oscar-winning success of his previous movie, Hacksaw Ridge. The Pᴀssion of the Christ remains his highest-grossing movie of all time with a total of $612 million. This is a promising sign for his rumored Pᴀssion of the Christ sequel, which Gibson hopes to start filming in 2026.

Nobody who paid for the ticket to see Flight Risk expected an Oscar-contending film based on its somewhat unserious trailer. If anything, Flight Risk was set up to be a fun action thriller with a great cast, meant to be enjoyed rather than analyzed. Even as such, Flight Risk failed to spark life in a typically frigid late-January box office, leaving an unfortunate blemish on Gibson’s directing legacy.

What Flight Risk’s Box Office Means For Mel Gibson & Mark Wahlberg

Wahlberg Is Due For A Box Office Hit After Gibson’s Rare Miss


Daryl (Mark Wahlberg) looking completely insane while pointing a gun in Flight Risk
Image via Liongate

Wahlberg’s villain role in Flight Risk doesn’t appear to have many career-changing implications. It would still be great to see him in more antagonist roles, perhaps in a blockbuster with a more serious and grounded tone than Flight Risk. That said, Wahlberg’s recent slate of movies has been quite mixed with an alarming number of poorly rated films, including The Union (2024), Me Time (2022), and Infinite (2021).

Wahlberg should continue to have box office appeal, especially if he pivots back to more traditional protagonist roles. His next theatrical release is expected to be Shane Black’s Play Dirty, which could give him a much-needed box office pop. As for Gibson, it’s unclear if he’ll direct again if his Pᴀssion of the Christ sequel doesn’t pan out. Hopefully, Gibson will go back to the same drawing board that turned out Oscar winners like Braveheart and Hacksaw Ridge following Flight Risk’s flop.

Related Posts

Daniel Craig Movie With 77% On Rotten Tomatoes Named Among 21st Century’s Top 10 Movies By Acclaimed Director

Daniel Craig Movie With 77% On Rotten Tomatoes Named Among 21st Century’s Top 10 Movies By Acclaimed Director

Recently, The New York Times polled several hundred names in Hollywood to find the 100 greatest movies of the 21st century. Actors, producers, directors, and more provided…

Brad Pitt’s New Movie Races Past Kevin Costner’s Actioner In Studio’s All-Time Charts

Brad Pitt’s New Movie Races Past Kevin Costner’s Actioner In Studio’s All-Time Charts

Brad Pitt’s pulse-pounding racing blockbuster F1: The Movie has had an incredible run at the domestic box office, and recently overtook one of the most successful movies…

The 20 Most Important Movie Sequels Of All Time (Number 1 Is Legendary)

The 20 Most Important Movie Sequels Of All Time (Number 1 Is Legendary)

In the modern day, the sequel is an immovable fixture of the movie industry, with many iconic films proving why the cinematic continuation of a story is…

Why Happy Gilmore 2’s Major Death “Is Within The DNA Of The Universe” Explained By Director & Star

Why Happy Gilmore 2’s Major Death “Is Within The DNA Of The Universe” Explained By Director & Star

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Happy Gilmore 2 The long-awaited sequel to Adam Sandler’s cult classic sports comedy Happy Gilmore 2 begins with a shocking death that might…

Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Box Office Officially Pᴀsses The 2015 Movie’s Entire Domestic Gross In Just 1 Day

Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Box Office Officially Pᴀsses The 2015 Movie’s Entire Domestic Gross In Just 1 Day

The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ opening day outpaces the 2015 movie’s entire box office run. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s long-awaited reboot of The Fantastic Four is already…

These Directors Only Became Truly Great After Their First Major Flops

These Directors Only Became Truly Great After Their First Major Flops

Sometimes you’ve got to fall down before you get back up, and all these filmmakers achieved major comebacks following films that flopped, underperformed, or downright bombed at…