Hypnotic marks a career-wide worst opening for Ben Affleck

Hypnotic
(Image credit: Warner Bros. UK)

Robert Rodriguez’s latest movie Hypnotic faces an uphill battle at the box office. The movie, which stars Ben Affleck as its lead, opened to just $2.4 million in the US over the May 14-16 weekend.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Hypnotic only opened in 2,118 theaters, and its low opening figures mean it's the worst first weekend of both Affleck’s and Rodriguez’s careers to date. Given it also had a reported budget of $65 million, it looks set to lose tens of millions at the box office. 

The movie faced delays during production after Solstice Studios closed in 2021, which had been due to release it. It was picked up by Ketchup Entertainment and Relativity Media, but it’s been a long time since it was filmed at the tail end of 2021. However, Hypnotic still has an international release on the way, which could bolster numbers.

The movie stars Affleck as Detective Danny Rourke, a father determined to find his missing daughter. When he finds himself spiraling as he begins investigating some reality-bending crimes, he must work with a gifted psychic (played by Alice Braga) to hunt down the one man who may know where his daughter is. 

J. D. Pardo, Hala Finley, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley, and William Fichtner all also star in the thriller. As well as being in the director’s chair, Rodriguez wrote the screenplay with Max Borenstein, produced, and edited the movie.

Hypnotic is out in the US now and hits UK cinemas on May 26. For more upcoming movies, check out our round-up of all the 2023 movie release dates.

Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.

Read more
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon at the Golden Globes
Netflix drop first look at thrilling new action movie from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, which is described as "Heat meets Training Day"
Robert Pattinson as Mickey in Mickey 17
Mickey 17 Review: "Bong Joon Ho's best English movie to date and arguably Robert Pattinson's best movie ever"
Calliana Liang as Chloe in Steven Soderbergh's new horror-drama Presence
New haunted house horror Presence is unlike anything you've seen before – and cements Steven Soderbergh as one of our most interesting filmmakers
Brady Corbet
The Brutalist director hopes his new movie proves Oppenheimer's commercial success wasn't a fluke: "People are actually interested in all of these things that sales companies frequently tell you are like box office poison"
Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, and Ke Huy Quan in The Electric State
$320 million in the hole, the Russo brothers' new Netflix movie debuts to their worst Rotten Tomatoes score even though it's one of the most expensive films ever made
Josh Hartnett in Fight or Flight (2025)
Fight or Flight review: "Slick and silly action sequences garner well-earned John Wick and Bullet train comparisons"
Latest in Thriller Movies
Black Bag
This new spy thriller starring Michael Fassbender earns near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score with glowing first reviews
Claire Danes as Juliet and Miriam Margolyes as Nurse in the movie Romeo + Juliet.
The 33 greatest movies based on Shakespeare
Bloodsport
The 32 greatest '80s action movies
The Bridges of Madison County
The 32 most heartbreaking movie moments
The Surfer
Nicolas Cage just wants to surf but keeps getting bullied by locals in bizarre trailer for new thriller being compared to Midsommar
Blake Lively as Emily in Another Simple Favor
7 years on from the original, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick reunite in sinister, sun-soaked first trailer for comedy thriller sequel Another Simple Favor
Latest in News
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily
Minecraft Diamond Armor
Minecraft Pocket Edition got its name because one of its devs was a big "Nintendo nerd" who wanted to pay homage to the Game Boy Pocket
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding's themes of connection came about because "I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago"
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' infamously confusing menus spare no player, not even Gemma's voice actor herself: "This is honestly what I’m struggling with the most"
Death Stranding 2 kiss
Hideo Kojima says "it was very difficult to direct" Death Stranding 2's big kiss scene, but Norman Reedus thinks "it was niiice" locking lips with Léa Seydoux
Ms. Marvel alongside the mutants of Age of Apocalypse
30 years after the original Age of Apocalypse, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel to the alt-reality to save X-Men history