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The Beekeeper (2024 film)

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The Beekeeper
A bald bearded man in a heavy beekeeper jacket surrounded by bees. The image is in only black and yellow.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Ayer
Written byKurt Wimmer
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGabriel Beristain
Edited byGeoffrey O'Brien
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byAmazon MGM Studios
Release date
  • January 12, 2024 (2024-01-12)
Running time
105 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million
Box office$152.7 million

The Beekeeper is a 2024 American action thriller film directed by David Ayer and written by Kurt Wimmer. The film stars Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Phylicia Rashad, Jemma Redgrave and Jeremy Irons. When his kind-hearted landlady commits suicide after falling victim to a phishing scam, former "Beekeeper" operative Adam Clay sets out on a brutal campaign for revenge upon those responsible.

The Beekeeper was released in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios under the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer label on January 12, 2024. The film has grossed $152.7 million worldwide.

Plot

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Retired schoolteacher Eloise Parker lives alone but has a tenant in her barn, Adam Clay, who lives a quiet life as a beekeeper and shares a warm friendship with her. Eloise falls for a phishing scam that bankrupts her and steals her life savings, including $2 million from a charity fund she manages. Devastated, she commits suicide. Adam discovers her body and is arrested by FBI agent Verona Parker, Eloise's daughter. After he is cleared and released, he contacts the Beekeepers, a mysterious group, to find those responsible and seek justice for Eloise.

He receives an address for a call center run by Mickey Garnett. He storms the building and burns it down. Mickey's boss, technology executive Derek Danforth, instructs Mickey to kill him. However, Adam kills Mickey's men and severs his fingers with a bandsaw. Mickey warns Derek that Adam is a Beekeeper before Adam kills him and warns Derek that he is next.

Derek informs former CIA director Wallace Westwyld, who is running security for Danforth Enterprises. Wallace contacts current CIA Director Janet Harward. Janet learns that Adam has retired from the Beekeepers and sends the current Beekeeper, Anisette, to kill him. Adam kills Anisette instead and the Beekeepers declare neutrality. Verona and her partner, Agent Wiley, anticipate that Adam's next target is the Nine Star United Center in Boston, which oversees all of Derek's global scam call centers.

Wallace coordinates a group of ex-special forces personnel, revealing to them that the Beekeepers are a highly-skilled and dangerous clandestine human intelligence organization tasked with protecting the United States, operating above and beyond governmental jurisdiction. Derek's refusal to evacuate the Nine Star employees enables Adam to defeat the FBI's SWAT team, infiltrate the building, and wipe out Wallace’s ex-special forces.

Verona informs FBI Deputy Director Jackson Prigg that Adam will attempt to kill Derek, but may also target his mother, Jessica Danforth, the current President of the United States, due to her son using the stolen funds to finance her campaign. At Jessica's beachside mansion, Wallace hires a group of mercenaries to take down Adam. Adam manages to infiltrate the mansion anyway, while Jessica learns the truth about her son's illegal activities.

As Adam kills the mercenaries, Jessica decides that she will tell the world the truth about Derek's scamming activities. Enraged, Derek kills Jackson and attempts to kill his mother. However, Adam kills Derek first and escapes. Despite Verona having a clear shot, she decides not to shoot him, allowing him to flee with the underwater gear he had hidden on the beach.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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In August 2021, it was announced that Jason Statham would star in the film for Miramax, and would also serve as a producer.[2] David Ayer signed on to direct in May 2022.[3]

Filming

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Principal photography began in September 2022 in the United Kingdom.[4] In October, Statham shot scenes at Tyringham Hall in Tyringham.[5] In preparation for the film, which is depicted in the opening scenes, Statham learned several common methods of beekeeping and interacted with real bees.[6] Filming wrapped that December.[7]

Release

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) acquired the film's distribution rights in the United States in August 2022.[4] In February 2023, Sky Cinema acquired the rights in the United Kingdom which StudioCanal handled the U.K. theatrical release on behalf of Sky Cinema.[8] It was released by Amazon MGM Studios on January 12, 2024.[9][10]

The Beekeeper was released on VOD and digital platforms on January 30, 2024, followed by a release on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on April 23, 2024.[11][12]

Reception

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Box office

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The Beekeeper grossed $66.2 million domestically (United States and Canada) and $86.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $152.7 million,[13] against a budget of "$40 million or less".[14] It spent its first eight weeks in the Top 10 at the domestic box office, peaking at No. 1 in its third week.[15]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 70% of 175 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Cheerfully undemanding and enjoyably retrograde, The Beekeeper proves that when it comes to dispensing action-thriller justice, Statham hasn't lost his sting."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[18]

A review in The Guardian says the non-shooting scenes are rushed and both Rashad and Driver are underused, and describes it as "a solid, low-stakes, medium-reward new year's effort".[19] RogerEbert.com's Matt Zoller Seitz praised various aspects of the film, including its range of villains, but regretted: "It's a real shame that 'The Beekeeper' isn't the righteous trash masterpiece that it keeps threatening to turn into."[20]

References

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  1. ^ "The Beekeeper (15)". BBFC. December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  2. ^ D'Alessandro, Alexander (August 27, 2021). "Jason Statham To Star In Miramax's 'The Bee Keeper'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  3. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 5, 2022). "'Suicide Squad' Filmmaker David Ayer To Direct Jason Statham In Miramax's Action Pic 'The Beekeeper' — Cannes Market Hot Package". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (August 31, 2022). "Jason Statham-David Ayer Action Pic 'The Beekeeper' Pre-Bought By MGM For U.S. & Some Of International". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Morton, Dennis (October 21, 2023). "Video shows Jason Statham filming blockbuster movie in small Milton Keynes village". Edinburgh News. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  6. ^ Mathai, Jeremy (January 15, 2024). "There's Nothing Fake About The Bees In Jason Statham's The Beekeeper". Slashfilm. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "2022 film and high-end TV productions shooting in the UK: latest updates". Screen Daily. December 6, 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (February 20, 2023). "Jason Statham-David Ayer Action Film 'The Beekeeper' Sells To UK". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  9. ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 4, 2023). "The Beekeeper Trailer: Jason Statham And David Ayer Action Movie Flying Toward January Release". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  10. ^ White, James (April 10, 2023). "Jason Statham Proves Vengeance Stings In The Beekeeper Trailer". Empire. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  11. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (February 5, 2024). "From Migration to The Beekeeper, VOD Charts Suggest Viewers Are Willing to Wait for Lower Rental Prices". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  12. ^ DeVore, Britta (March 6, 2024). "Have You Heard the Buzz? 'The Beekeeper' Is Coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray". Collider. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  13. ^ "The Beekeeper". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 20, 2024.Edit this at Wikidata
  14. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (January 14, 2024). "'Mean Girls' Drives $100 Million Box Office Weekend, but It May Be the Last One Until March". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  15. ^ "The Beekeeper | Domestic Weekly". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Beekeeper". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 21, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  17. ^ "The Beekeeper". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (January 13, 2024). "Box Office: 'Mean Girls' So Fetch With $11.6 Million Opening Day, 'Beekeeper' Buzzing in Second". Variety. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  19. ^ Lee, Benjamin (January 11, 2024). "The Beekeeper review – Jason Statham's John Wick is serviceable schlock". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  20. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (January 11, 2024). "The Beekeeper movie review & film summary (2024)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
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