In the Grey might not end up in the black.
The new thriller, which debuted on May 15, is Man of Steel star Henry Cavill’s latest collaboration with director Guy Ritchie, with whom he previously collaborated on 2015’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and 2024’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. 2026’s In the Grey follows Sid (Cavill) and Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal), two extraction specialists who are hired to retrieve $1 billion from a dangerous world leader. It boasts a star-studded cast that also includes Eiza González, Fisher Stevens, and Rosamund Pike.
Per Variety, as of Sunday morning, the new Henry Cavill thriller In the Grey is projected to earn a 3-day total of $3 million by the end of its debut weekend at the domestic box office. By a wide margin, this marks the star’s worst wide release debut in 14 years, since the 2012 action movie The Cold Light of Day, which only earned $1.8 million during its opening weekend. Because none of his prior movies earned less than $3 million during their own debuts, In the Grey has also earned Henry Cavill’s second worst wide domestic opening weekend overall.
Below, see a breakdown of the 10 worst wide release domestic debuts earned by Henry Cavill movies:
Title
Domestic Debut
Worldwide Box Office
Immortals (2011)
$32.2 million
$226.9 million
Argylle (2024)
$17.5 million
$96.2 million
Red Riding Hood (2011)
$14 million
$90.3 million
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
$13.4 million
$110 million
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
$11.4 million
$75.4 million
Stardust (2007)
$9.2 million
$137.5 million
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
$8.9 million
$29.8 million
Tristan + Isolde (2006)
$6.6 million
$28 million
In the Grey (2026)
$3 million
TBD
The Cold Light of Day (2012)
$1.8 million
$16.9 million
As the chart reflects, even if the movie has a surge toward the end of Sunday, In the Grey would need to earn at least double its current projections in order to debut higher than Henry Cavill’s next-lowest release.
While the movie’s production budget is unknown at the time of writing, if it cost $60 million like The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, that would most likely place its estimated theatrical break-even point somewhere around $150 million. This is a number that it is almost impossible for In the Grey to reach. In fact, if it has a multiplier similar to any of Henry Cavill’s previous movies that debuted below $10 million, it is unlikely to earn more than $29 million worldwide by the end of its run.
However, In the Grey doesn’t necessarily have to break even in theaters in order to be considered a hit. Many recent Guy Ritchie movies have been made with an eye toward their eventual streaming runs. If his new movie behaves remotely similarly to his recent Apple TV release Fountain of Youth (which has been a mainstay on their Top 10 Movies chart since it debuted in May 2025), it could eventually prove its mettle as a commercial success.
Additionally, it seems likely that this low debut for In the Grey will be a temporary dip for Henry Cavill. The star is already set to appear in a number of anticipated IP-based movies that should easily clear the $3 million bar when they open in domestic theaters. This includes Red Notice director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s 2027 movie Voltron (co-starring Daniel Quinn-Toye, Sterling K. Brown, and Rita Ora), which is in post-production, and the upcoming Highlander reboot (co-starring Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Jeremy Irons, and Russell Crowe), which is currently in production.
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Release Date
May 15, 2026
Runtime
98 Minutes
Producers
Ivan Atkinson, John Friedberg, Dave Caplan, Guy Ritchie