“Arthur the King” follows Michael (Wahlberg) and a scrappy road canine companion dubbed Arthur. Mild is determined for one final likelihood to win and convinces a sponsor to again him and a staff of athletes for the Journey Racing World Championship within the Dominican Republic. Because the staff is pushed to their outer limits, Arthur finally ends up following them on their journey. The solid additionally contains Simu Liu (“Barbie”), Nathalie Emmanuel (“Quick X”), and Ali Suliman (“Jack Ryan”). It’s based mostly on the e book “Arthur: The Canine Who Crossed the Jungle to Discover a Dwelling” by Mikael Lindnord.
Wahlberg’s two most up-to-date motion pictures — “Me Time” and “The Household Plan” — each went on to streaming. In consequence, he hasn’t had the possibility to show his prowess on the field workplace for a short time. The hope right here is that 2021’s “Joe Bell” ($1.7 million worldwide) was a fluke of a flop ensuing from the pandemic, relatively than an actual indication of the actor’s enchantment in non-franchise tasks.
Whereas critics have but to weigh in on this one, it does really feel just like the sort of film that’s considerably critic-proof. Audiences that turned as much as see “A Canine’s Goal,” for instance, aren’t prone to be turned away by destructive critiques. They both wish to watch Wahlberg pal round with a cute, scrappy canine or they do not. If the film does open within the $15 million vary, it will likely be well-positioned to probably leg out and develop into a mid-budget winner, which is the place Lionsgate excels.
Equally, Channing Tatum’s “Canine” opened to $15 million in 2022 when it confronted off in opposition to Wahlberg’s “Uncharted,” oddly sufficient. The charming man and canine story legged out to $85 million worldwide, by no means climbing previous quantity two on the charts. If all goes properly, Wahlberg’s newest might discover itself on a really comparable trajectory.
“Arthur the King” hits theaters on March 15, 2024.