Helen Mirren's 'A Talent for Murder' Removed From Over 800 Theaters as Domestic Box Office Struggles

Helen Mirren has spent decades proving she can make almost any character compelling, whether playing royalty in The Queen or a ruthless crime boss in Paramount+'s MobLand. The Oscar-winning actress has also continued taking on challenging roles well into her eighties, with her latest movie casting her as one of literature's most fascinating and controversial figures. Unfortunately, the theatrical numbers for her newest film tell a very different story.

Mirren's new thriller A Talent for Murder has officially lost 842 theaters since its October 23 debut, shrinking from 876 locations to just 34 after earning approximately $1.13 million domestically. The film opened to $717,864 across 876 theaters before a sharp second-weekend decline, when its theater count fell to 332 and ticket sales dropped 79% to $152,296.

Things deteriorated further in its third weekend, with another 298 theaters dropping the film and leaving it in only 34 locations. That represents a 96% reduction from its opening footprint, despite generally favorable reviews.

What Is 'A Talent for Murder' About?

Directed by Anton Corbijn, A Talent for Murder follows celebrated novelist Patricia Highsmith, creator of The Talented Mr. Ripley, during her retirement in the Swiss Alps. In the film, Edward Ridgeway is sent by his employer, a publishing house, to see the reclusive author.

It's 1995, and Ridgeway has been tasked with getting Highsmith to sign a contract promising a sixth Tom Ripley book. On the train there, he meets Clementine Balfour, who is on her way to visit her wealthy aunt. When Ridgeway meets Highsmith, sparks fly: she alternately toys with him and threatens to throw him out. When she teasingly begins outlining the new Ripley story, she asks him for a character name. He volunteers "Clementine Balfour," and viewers begin to see the new story unfold, as a new Ripley romances Clementine with his eye on the family fortune. But soon fiction becomes dangerously entwined with life.

The film stars Mirren (The Queen) as Patricia Highsmith, Alden Ehrenreich (Oppenheimer) as Edward Ridgeway, Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon) as Clementine Balfour, Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham) as Peggy, and James Faulkner (Game of Thrones) as Douglas Balfour.