NOT even an Oscar-winning director and one of the world’s most popular actors could save “Gemini Man” from getting bumped off at the box office.

Ang Lee’s VFX-heavy film, starring Will Smith, faces losses of US$75 million or more after opening to US$20.5 million domestically over the Oct. 11-13 frame and finishing Sunday with an anemic worldwide total of US$118.7 million, according to sources and box office analysts. Hopes were high that “Gemini Man” would make up ground and open to strong numbers in China. Instead, it launched to just US$21 million over the weekend, coming in behind “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” (US$22.4 million) in a surprise upset.

The silver lining: The loss will be spread between David Ellison’s Skydance Media, Paramount Pictures and two China-based companies, Fosun and Alibaba. The pic — which features Smith as an elite assassin who faces off against his younger self — cost roughly US$140 million to produce after-tax rebates and incentives, in addition to a US$100 million-plus marketing bill.

Leading up to its release, “Gemini Man” sparked headlines across the globe for Lee’s use of groundbreaking de-aging and high frame rate technology, but Paramount and Skydance knew they were in trouble in late September when reviews started pouring in and prerelease tracking stalled.

While praising the film’s technological prowess, critics slammed the story, resulting in a career-worst Rotten Tomatoes score of 25 percent for Lee.

Paramount and Skydance each put up 35 percent of the budget (the former’s losses could be minimized when recouping its distribution fee). Fosun, which is distributing “Gemini Man” in China, has a 25 percent stake, followed by 5 percent for Alibaba, according to sources.

A Hollywood event pic packed with action can often overcome a soft performance in North America by pulling in big numbers overseas. Through Sunday, however, “Gemini Man”’s foreign tally stood at an underwhelming US$82.2 million. Internationally, it grossed US$33.4 million in its second weekend in wide release, a steep 59 percent decline.

The film likewise tumbled 59 percent in North America in its sophomore outing, collecting US$8.5 million for a 10-day domestic total of US$36.5 million.

“Joker”’s surprise blockbuster status is no doubt taking attention away from “Gemini Man.”

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, the Warner Bros. pic has continued to defy all expectations since its early October release, having amassed US$737.5 million in global ticket sales to date. “Joker” grossed US$29.2 million domestically and another US$77.9 million overseas over the weekend, its third frame in release.

Lee, whose credits include “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Brokeback Mountain,” is enamored with cutting-edge technology and shot both “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and “Gemini Man” in high frame rates designed for 3D screens. Released by Sony in late 2016, “Billy Lynn” was an all-out debacle, topping out at US$31 million worldwide, but the filmmkaer was intent on trying again.

Previously, Lee — like James Cameron — pushed the bounds of 3-D with “Life of Pi,” the 2012 critically acclaimed film that debuted to a modest US$22 million domestically on its way to awards glory and a global box office haul of US$609 million. (Lee won best director Oscars for “Life of Pi” and “Brokeback Mountain.”)

Since “Life of Pi,” however, the appetite for 3-D has waned dramatically.

Only 26 percent of the foreign grosses for “Gemini Man” have been generated by 3-D screens, a sobering statistic (numbers aren’t available for North America).

(SD-Agencies)