Russell Crowe: We’ve Released The Nice Guys At The Wrong Time of Year

Russell Crowe thinks the release of ‘The Nice Guys’ could have been better timed as his new film is currently struggling to compete with guaranteed box pleasers like ‘Captain America’ and ‘Angry Birds’.

“It possibly would have been more sensible to put [’The Nice Guys’] out in one of those months where there’s a hole like February or March, where there’s less competition,” Russell told Yahoo Movies.

“But, at the same time if you can’t stand up, you can’t stand up.”

His comments follow the film’s lukewarm box office reception in the States where it was released on the 20th of May. So far, it’s only taken around £17m against a reported £34.5m budget, so it’ll need to make a lot more money internationally before it’s considered profitable.

The cast addressed the box office competition in a funny NSFW video that you can watch here.

Crowe adds that the adult-oriented nature of ‘The Nice Guys’ could work in its favour though, hopefully appealing to an older crowd looking for something a bit different from the usual summer fare.

- Paula Patton Admits Warcraft Costume Nerves
- Mary Poppins Sequel Details
- New Star Wars Film In Trouble?

“’[’The Nice Guys’] is the sort of film that you can’t really tell people about the experience and convince them. It’s easier with these larger tentpole films because you can just say “it’s that thing” and they get it,” he explains.

“This is very different. Right now this is counter-programming of the craziest level.”

He’s not wrong. Written and directed by Shane Black, the creator of ‘Lethal Weapon’ and ‘The Last Boy Scout’, ‘The Nice Guys’ definitely feels very different from all the big summer blockbusters currently dominating the box office.

Raunchy, violent, and laugh out loud funny, it has better action than most blockbusters, and features more belly laughs than most so-called comedies, mainly from the genius (and unlikely pairing) of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling who play a couple of low life PIs who team up to search for a missing girl.

‘The Nice Guys’ is coming to UK cinemas this Friday, 3 June. Watch a clip below.

Image credits: Icon