Liam Neeson’s New Comedy Reboot Becomes His First Film In 5 Years To Hit Major Box Office Milestone

The Naked Gun is already explosive at the box office. The action-comedy serves as a reboot of 1988’s The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, which earned $152 million ($424 million today) against a $15 million budget ($41 million today). The reboot is led by Liam Neeson (Frank Drebin Jr.), taking over from Leslie Nielsen (Frank Drebin).

The reboot has not been quite as prominent as the original. With a $42 million budget, it does have the same initial investment, but the movie has not yet broken the $100 million mark in theaters.

Still, it has already crossed a major box office milestone for Neeson. It’s now his first movie in more than five years to earn over $50 million domestically, thanks to a $51.2 million domestic total. His last prominent project to hit that milestone came in 2019’s Men in Black: International.

What This Means For The Naked Gun

Liam Neeson poses as Frank Drebin Jr in The Naked Gun

Liam Neeson poses as Frank Drebin Jr in The Naked Gun

As The Naked Gun continues its box office run, it still appears to be working towards a profit. When accounting for marketing costs and the cut that theaters take from every ticket, the comedy needs around $105 million to break even.

The international box office is tracking slightly slower than the domestic total, but there is certainly still hope for a profit. This movie could also achieve profitability through rentals and through streaming platforms. Hollywood has been shifting its calculus in recent years, as streaming now plays a significant role in determining profitability after movies leave theaters.

The Naked Gun has impressed critics and audiences, securing an 88% Tomatometer score and a 73% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes. That should be a significant help when it leaves theaters, as audiences may be willing to give it a chance when it is more readily accessible. Still, even this result is impressive in the 2025 landscape. Neeson’s recent projects, including In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2023), Retribution (2023), Marlowe (2023), and Memories (2022), all earned under $10 million domestically.

Our Take On The Naked Gun’s Box Office

Liam Neeson looking serious in The Naked Gun.

Liam Neeson looking serious in The Naked Gun.

While it is an impressive total, Neeson’s latest movie deserves more. ScreenRant‘s Zach Moser reviewed The Naked Gun and found that it “is old-fashioned but still feels fresh” and constantly gets audiences laughing. While often likened to a sketch comedy with limited depth, it is a deeply funny and entertaining production.

The comedy should thrive on streaming, even if it falls short of break-even. Neeson’s movies tend to do very well on streaming, and his latest comedy should be no different. As it stands, it reboots a 1988 classic for a new audience, and The Naked Gun excels with that very premise.

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