Summary
While attendingSan Diego Comic-Con, the directors ofOlympus Has FallenandWhite House Downaddress their films releasing in the same year. Hitting theaters only about three months apart in 2013, bothOlympus Has FallenandWhite HouseDownchronicle attacks on the American president and the White House. Gerard Butler leads the former as Secret Service agent Mike Banning, while Channing Tatum leads theWhite House Downcastas Capitol policeman John Cale, with both movies serving as action-packed rides with fun political twists.
DuringCollider’s Directors on Directors panel at SDCC, for whichScreen Rantwas in attendance,Olympus Has Fallendirector Antoine Fuqua andWhite House Downdirector Roland Emmerich comment on the fact that their movies were released so close together. For Fuqua, he reveals that knowing Emmerich was releasing a similar type of movie so close to his generated a sense of “healthy competition,” while Emmerich reveals that he preferred his competitor’s movie title. Check out their comments below:
Roland Emmerich: “I learned right before shooting, maybe a month before, [Antoine Fuqua] was shooting another which was called Olympus Has Fallen. I said, ‘This is so much a better title than White House Down.’ I couldn’t stop it. We had cast the actors and so I went through it.
Fuqua: “Yeah, I was aware. I didn’t think much of it in terms of which one the audience would go see. There’s room for those stories. Obviously, two different directors, two different visions, different actors. There’s room for that. And if you’re going to make a movie and Roland Emmerich is making the same movie, that’s daunting.
“But at the same time it’s challenging because it makes you step your game up because you know that’s coming. It was more of a healthy competition. It was never negative for me. I’m a fan of Roland’s and I knew it would be quite a different type of film. I had a little more room, I think. It didn’t cost as much. It was a little more violent with my film.”
Which White House Action Movie Came Out On Top?
How Critics & Audiences Responded
Olympus Has Fallenhit theaters in March 2013, earning mixed reviews from critics. The film currently has a lackluster 50% score onRotten Tomatoes, with critics mostly taking issue with the film feeling more or less like a generic action film. There are thrills to be had, however, and Butler, especially, proves himself a capable action hero.Olympus Has Fallenwas a box office hit, too, ultimately birthing theHas Fallenfranchise, which now consists of three films.
Night Has Fallenis in development, with the film expected to serve as the fourth and final outing for Butler’s Mike Banning.
50%
66%
$70 million
$170.3 million
51%
62%
$150 million
$205.4 million
As seen in the chart above,White House Downfared about the same critically as Fuqua’s film. Both movies suffer from some of the same problems, but Emmerich’s film has been criticized for featuring underwhelming action sequences. Despite its more generic elements,Olympus Has Fallen, at the very least, does feature some hard-hitting, violent action. In terms of box office,White House Downlooks like the clear winner on the surface, but its budget complicates matters.
Why White House Down Bombed At The Box Office Despite Olympus Has Fallen’s Massive Success That Same Year
White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen were released at similar times and had almost identical plots, but only one was a box office success.
WhileWhite House Downearned about $35 million more at the box office, it also cost about $80 million more to make. WhileOlympus Has Fallenlikely earned a decent profit, Emmerich’s film may have been looking at a break-even point of over $300 million, making it a commercial disappointment. If one film is to be crowned winner, the franchise startingOlympus Has Fallenlooks like it comes out on top.
