Although Denzel Washington’s next Spike Lee collaboration High and Low sounds exciting, the movie will return to a trend that has never been good news for the star’s box office prospects. Although Denzel Washington is one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, the star has weathered his fair share of flops. 1998’s supernatural thriller Fallen and 1995’s noir mystery Devil In A Blue Dress both failed to earn back their budgets at the box office despite becoming cult classics in the years after their respective releases. In fact, some of Denzel Washington’s best movies underperformed before later finding an audience.

Although Denzel Washington’s Oscar-winning role (Training Day) was both a box office success and a critical hit, many of his movies have received a more mixed reception. Thus, the news that Washington will star in Spike Lee’s upcoming remake of Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller High and Low may not be as promising as it appears. Washington will lead alongside Jeffrey Wright and rapper Ice Spice in her movie debut. Denzel Washington and Spike Lee’s latest collaboration will update Kurosawa’s story of a wealthy executive who faces a moral dilemma when his driver’s son is kidnapped and held for ransom.

High & Low Is Denzel Washington’s First Remake Since The Magnificent Seven 2016

The Starry Western Was A Box Office Disappointment

High and Low has a lot of potential, but the Spike Lee movie means Washington is starring in his first remake since 2016’s The Magnificent Seven under-performed. Director Antoine Fuqua’s take on the classic Western more than broke even but, by earning only $160 million on a budget of almost $110 million, The Magnificent Seven didn’t inspire confidence in further big-budget western blockbusters. Considering Fuqua and Washington’s Equalizer movies made $192 and $190 million on budgets of only $55 and $62 million respectively, the relative failure of The Magnificent Seven is a striking anomaly among their collaborations.

To be fair to The Magnificent Seven, its status as a remake wasn’t its only problem. Numerous great Westerns bombed at the box office since the turn of the millennium as the genre has struggled to regain a foothold in multiplexes. That said, Fuqua and Washington’s first collaboration was Training Day, which earned $104 million on a budget of $45 million and also netted Washington a Best Actor Oscar and his co-star Ethan Hawke a Best Supporting Actor nomination. The Magnificent Seven’s relative underperformance proves Washington’s remakes struggle at the box office, especially when compared to his original movies.

Denzel Washington’s Remakes Have A Mixed Box Office History

The Actor’s Forays Into Remakes Haven’t Historically Succeeded

Technically, none of Washington’s remakes have been outright financial failures. However, 2004’s The Manchurian Candidate, 2009’s The Taking of Pelham 123, and 2016’s The Magnificent Seven did all underperform, and none of them stunned critics. Where the likes of Fallen and Devil In A Blue Dress were redeemed by retrospective reviews, all three of Washington’s remakes were regarded as solid but unspectacular efforts by critics. With a budget of $80 million, director Jonathan Demme’s The Manchurian Candidate remake made $95 million at the box office. The Taking of Pelham 123 didn’t fare much better five years later.

On a budget of 110 million, director Tony Scott’s re-imagining of the gritty ‘70s hostage thriller earned $150 million at the box office. Since most of Tony Scott and Denzel Washington’s movie collaborations were financially successful, this margin isn’t as impressive as it initially sounds. For a major movie to be a success, it generally needs to make back more than twice its budget at the box office to account for marketing costs. With this in mind, none of Denzel Washington’s three remakes have been outright box office success, which seems to bode badly for High and Low’s future.

Denzel Washington’s Upcoming Remake Could Be A Huge Hit

High & Low Sees The Star Team Up With Spike Lee Again

Fortunately for Washington, the actor has a secret weapon up his sleeve when it comes to this upcoming movie. Spike Lee and Washington haven’t worked together since 2006’s heist thriller Inside Man, but that movie managed to make $184 million on a budget of only $45 million. Not all of Spike Lee and Denzel Washington’s movies have been financial successes, with both He Got Game and Mo’ Better Blues underperforming. However, High and Low sees the duo return to the world of high-octane crime thrillers.

Like Inside Man, High and Low will be a propulsive crime movie rather than a sports drama or a musical dramedy. This makes the movie an easier sell, particularly after the success of Washington’s Equalizer trilogy. High and Low could end Washington’s box office remake struggles with a strong opening if Inside Man’s success is any metric, and the movie’s buzzy cast doesn’t hurt in this regard. Alongside Ice Spice, A$AP Rocky will play a supporting role in Lee’s upcoming movie. Thus, Lee and Washington’s High and Low remake might turn the tide and bring this unfortunate career trend to an end.