The name Gerard Butler is no longer associated with RomComs in Hollywood. Instead, Butler stands for gritty actionwhich is about to hit the direct-to-DVD shelf and somehow still makes it to the big screen, where it’s quite successful, as Plane has recently proven.
Butler established himself as a reliable action star in the 2010s and is become its own brand. The most important film in this development is Olympus Has Fallen, which was released in 2013 and at first glance looked like the B-movie version of Roland Emmerich’s action blockbuster White House Down.
Action-packed surprise hit: Olympus Has Fallen has now become a trilogy
The irony of the story is that while White House flopped down, Olympus Has Fallen flopped one unexpected triumph at the box office and turned out to be an extremely lucrative film in the course of its home cinema exploitation. It’s part of Butler’s recipe for success: His films have a long life after the theatrical release.
You can watch the trailer for Olympus Has Fallen here:
Olympus Has Fallen – Trailer (German) HD
In the meantime, Olympus Has Fallen has become a trilogy. London Has Fallen came in 2016, followed by Angel Has Fallen in 2019 – and there is no end in sight. Night Has Fallen is the next installment in the action series from which then at least two more films to come, while a spin-off series is also being considered.
Has Fallen series cost and box office:
What is particularly exciting is that the films get cheaper from part to part, which is the case with very few franchises in Hollywood. This keeps the series viable, even if a film like Angel Has Fallen has a weaker box-office performance. But as already mentioned: Those who produce Has Fallen films with Gerard Butler not only have the cinema market in mind, but above all the home cinema market.
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