Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Ana Faris and Michelle Buteau in “Spa Weekend.”
Black Bear Pictures
Spa Weekend, a new comedy starring Leslie Mann, Anna Faris, Michelle Buteau and Isla Fisher, looks for a fresh start on streaming after flopping in theaters.
Written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who also directed Bad Moms and A Bad Moms Christmas, Spa Weekend opened in theaters on Aug. 21. In the film, childhood best friends Jane (Mann), Sophie (Faris) and Coco (Buteau) decide that they need to reconnect after life’s demands have strained their bonds in adulthood, so they decided to book a weekend at a luxurious spa.
Initially, the three friends want the weekend to themselves, but when Sophie feels guilty about leaving a fourth childhood best friend, Mel (Fisher), out of the mix, she secretly invites her to the spa weekend — even though Mel is a train wreck who ruins every social situation she encounters.
Rated R, Spa Weekend also stars Dominic Ona-Ariki, Erika Heynatz and Adam Demos.
Spa Weekend was a big miss in theaters, earning just $7 million domestically and $4.4 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $11.4 million. According to Variety, Spa Weekend had a production budget of “roughly $20 million” before prints and advertising costs. Given that generally half of ticket sales go to theater owners, that means Spa Weekend lost a substantial amount of money, not including the P&A expenses to help promote the film.
As such, Spa Weekend is a rare box office dud for Lucas and Moore, who have had an ample amount of success as directors and/or screenwriters. By contrast, 2009’s The Hangover, which was written by the duo and directed by Todd Phillips, earned $465 million at the worldwide box office against a $35 million production budget before P&A.
In addition, 2016’s Bad Moms, which Lucas and Moore wrote and directed, earned $180.4 million globally against a $20 million production spend before P&A. While not as successful as the original, the duo’s 2017 sequel A Bad Mom’s Christmas still found success as it earned $127.7 million against a production budget of $28 million before P&A.
Other comedies Lucas and Moore have written the screenplays for, including Four Christmases (2008), Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) and Office Christmas Party (2016), were moderate to minor hits at the box office.
‘Spa Weekend’ Arrives On PVOD On Tuesday
Spa Weekend arrived on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Tuesday, Sept. 22, a new listing on Prime Video confirms. Spa Weekend will be available to purchase for $24.99 and since PVOD rentals are generally $5 less than purchase prices, viewers can expect to rent Spa Weekend for $19.99 for a 48-hour period.
In addition to Prime Video, Spa Weekend will be available to purchase or rent on other digital platforms including Apple TV, Fandango at Home and YouTube Movies & TV.
Spa Weekend was met with a “rotten” critics’ score of 29% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer based on 45 reviews. Audiences, however, gave the film a 74% “fresh” score on RT’s Popcornmeter based on 250-plus verified user ratings.
RT’s Critics Consensus of the film reads, “Saddling a terrific cast with meager material, Spa Weekend never relaxes as it stacks hijinks upon hijinks without unlocking how to make all the antics particularly funny.”
On the contrary, RT’s positive Audience Summary of the movie reads, “A breezy getaway with the gals, Spa Weekend celebrates friendship while delivering fun without pretense, leaving audiences refreshed — just like a five-star spa treatment.”
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