The veteran mind ofBarry Levinsonrejoined the theatrical circuit this past weekend, with his latest effort,The Alto Knights, struggling to make the impact the Academy Award winner would’ve liked, despite starring the iconicRobert De Niroin not one but two roles. Beyond a difficult start to box office life,The Alto Knightsalso struggled to impress critics, earning aterrible opening critical scoreon review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes. However, the film’s 38% critical rating is juxtaposed by its audience response, withThe Alto Knightsofficially earning an impressive 70% audience score on the site.
Although still Levinson’s worst-rated movie of this current decade, the 70% audience score ofThe Alto Knightsis still much better than many of his other efforts, only bettered by three other projects since 2012. These three projects are 2015’sThe Natural: The Best There Ever Was, 2021’sTheSurvivor, and another 2021 title,Ennio. Only one of these three,The Survivor, is actually directed by Levinson, making this unlikely audience comeback for his latest project all the more inspiring.
Still, the poor critical reputation ofThe Alto Knightsis likely to hurt it, with its poor beginning to box office life unlikely to get any easier. InAidan Kelley’sreview of the moviefor Collider, he gave it a 5/10, saying of the dual role for De Niro, “the thematic weight behind the movie feels nonexistent and superfluous.There doesn’t seem to be any clear reason why Vito Genevese couldn’t have been played by one of the many great heavies who have played villainous mobsters on countless occasions, making this all feel more like a gimmick than anything else.”
‘The Alto Knights’ Is a Box Office Disaster
At a time when little competition faces it, with justDisney’s latest live-action ventureSnow Whitetruly challenging the film,The Alto Knightshas failed to capture audience’s imaginations and translate into ticket sales.In its opening weekend,The Alto Knightsfinished justsixth in the domestic rankings, despite being one of the only new movies and boasting the leading talents of De Niro. Between its domestic haul of $3.1 million and its international total of $1.9 million,The Alto Knights' $5 million milestone is considerably less than many might’ve predicted for its opening weekend, with De Niro-led crime stories of the past likeThe IrishmanandGoodfellasfeeling all too far away now.
You can catchThe Alto Knightsin theaters right now. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
The Alto Knights
