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Kim Hollis: Luc Besson's Taken-esque sci-fi film starring Guy Pearce, Lockout, opened to $6.2 million. Should FilmDistrict/Open Road Films be satisfied with this result?

David Mumpower: Lockout is a particularly difficult performance to evaluate in that this was a cheap production ($20 million) that FilmDistrict purchased cheaply. Then, they turned around and cut a deal with Open Road Films, the joint movie distributor of AMC and Regal. And Open Road Films has a sweetheart deal with Netflix to license this content almost immediately after it enters the home video phase. In other words, nobody is spending a lot of their own money while everyone involved is financially protected through side deals. Red Dawn's release pattern later this year is constructed in the same manner. As such, a $6.3 million result sounds unimpressive yet it borders on being arbitrage. Consider that since the two main movie theater chains involved are vertically integrated in this endeavor, the revenue splits on opening weekend are night and day better than normal. Ergo, their $6.3 million is better than the average $10 million opening weekend. I know that the surface level evaluation appears otherwise, but I maintain this is a decent sized win for all involved.

Bruce Hall: This result comes in somewhere behind some recent Luc Besson-led projects like Columbiana, which was terrible, and From Paris With Love, which was slightly less terrible. But one of those movies cast Zoe Saldana, and the slightly less terrible one boasted John Travolta, finally back within striking distance of the legendary form he displayed on the set of Battlefield Earth. Guy Pearce is also better than this but I'll bet his mortgage is getting paid. And there's always enough half baked charm to these films to make them sound investments, at least on an international scale. It's tempting to chortle at a low six million opening until you realize that somewhere, Luc Besson is busy planning his next production and someone is happy to let him. Because quality aside, they know everyone is getting paid. It doesn't always make for good movies, but it's a good way to keep oneself working.

Max Braden: This was the movie I wanted to see this weekend, in part because Guy Pearce was finally being a badass, but mostly because I'm a fan of Luc Besson. So I went. My brother, sitting next to me as the end credits rolled, chuckled and asked "Okay, let's hear your honest assessment." What amused me most about the movie is how fixated Besson is on this 1980s Hollywood action template. Lockout is a movie that would have been a hit 20 to 25 years ago, back in the era of Total Recall, Under Siege, and Demolition Man. Like many of other movies, this one follows the template of an antihero paired up or facing off against a corrupt cop. In short, it took this movie to make me see what general audiences have probably already realized: Besson is retailoring one dress more often than Andie Walsh in Pretty in Pink. This result accurately reflects the quality of the product. And aside from story and character weaknesses, the editing in Lockout was particularly sloppy.

Felix Quinonez: I was ready to call this one a flop. I mean $6 million? And I don't see this one having strong legs so I strongly doubt it will even make its modest budget back but after reading David's comments, I have to say it's a win for the people who worked out the deals.

Reagen Sulewski: Bear in mind that Luc Besson is the slightly more well-funded version of Roger Corman these days, and most of his productions barely even get to America, let alone to 2,000-plus theaters. We're the bonus market to him, not the other way around like with most films. Especially considering I saw like, zero advertising for this, this is a pretty solid win in my books.

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