‘Holmes & Watson’ Has Solid Christmas Day Box Office But Is Ravaged By Critics & Audiences

We must admit, after John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell teamed up on films like ‘Talladega Nights’ and the classic “Step Brothers,” we were admittedly excited for “Holmes & Watson.” The duo’s parody of the classic Sherlock Holmes world could have been incredible, given the talent of those two actors alone. However, according to critics and, most importantly, audiences, “Holmes & Watson” is not the “Step Brothers”-esque film we were hoping for.

Lost among the ridiculous number of films vying for that Christmas box office, “Holmes & Watson” debuted on December 25 with little fanfare. With a seemingly non-existent marketing campaign that didn’t build buzz at all, and no critics reviews before the film’s release, you might not have even known that Ferrell and Reilly had a new comedy at your local multiplex.

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And honestly, it appears that if you missed out on seeing the film yesterday, you might have done yourself a service.

Even though there are only 18 reviews (as of this writing), “Holmes & Watson” has the distinct honor of a 0% Rotten Tomatoes score. Sure, Rotten Tomatoes is far from being the arbiter of good taste, but here’s just a selection of a few of the negative reviews.

Los Angeles Times:

“Holmes & Watson” is more of a well-meaning misfire than a total train wreck. It’s frustrating mainly because all of these folks can do much better.”

EW:

“Between ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’ and ‘Step Brothers,’ Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly have established themselves as a comedic pairing to be reckoned with, brimming with innate comedy and an uncanny ability to deftly straddle the delicate line between silly and stupid. ‘Holmes & Watson,’ by contrast, finds that line, does a prat-fall over it, stomps around for a while, and then pees itself.”

Variety:

“Judging by the conspicuous lack of fanfare awaiting ‘Step Brothers’ co-stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s third feature pairing, the fact that critics weren’t invited, and the faint odor of horse manure emanating from the theater on Christmas morning, one doesn’t need to be a master detective to deduce that ‘Holmes & Watson’ is a dud…”

THR:

“Despite being filmed entirely in England and at numerous historical locations, ‘Holmes & Watson’ boasts such ersatz-looking visuals that it may as well been shot entirely on soundstages. The overall shoddiness is typical of this feeble sendup that doesn’t even manage to be as funny as the recent Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. versions.”

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And if you’re thinking, “Well, critics can’t always be trusted!” then we have another bad sign that doesn’t spell a good future for “Holmes & Watson.” The controversial CinemaScore system, which polls opening night audiences to see what they think of a film, and whether or not they’d recommend it, aka word-of-mouth, gave the comedy a horrible D+.

But all that being said, the film opened yesterday to an estimated $6.4 million, so maybe the film has a strong box office future. Next weekend will be the key, which will show whether that D+ signals bad word-of-mouth or not.

“Holmes & Watson” is in theaters now.