Why a critically acclaimed detective comedy failed to launch a franchise at the box office

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Shane Black's 2016 neo-noir The Nice Guys earned rave reviews for the chemistry between Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Despite its 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film struggled to find an audience against blockbuster competition, ultimately grossing $62.8 million against a $50 million production budget, stalling plans for a sequel.

Set in 1970s Los Angeles, The Nice Guys follows private eye Holland March and enforcer Jackson Healy as they investigate a disappearance linked to an experimental film exposing corporate corruption. Director Shane Black and co-writer Anthony Bagarozzi spent over a decade developing the project, which evolved from a vastly different script into a period piece inspired by the era's atmosphere and films like Vanishing Point.

The production went to great lengths to recreate the 1970s, utilizing authentic locations like the Atlanta Hilton and recruiting Arny Freytag—known for his Playboy centerfold work—to handle the film's glamour photography. Despite this meticulous attention to detail and a star-studded cast including Kim Basinger and Keith David, the film faced a difficult release window. It debuted alongside Neighbors 2 and The Angry Birds Movie, the latter of which Gosling later cited as the primary reason for the film's lackluster opening weekend.

While critics lauded the sharp dialogue and the comedic rapport between the leads, the film's box office performance was underwhelming. It finished fourth in its opening weekend, trailing behind major releases like Captain America: Civil War. Although it has since cultivated a dedicated cult following, Black has noted that the initial financial returns made a sequel unlikely. The project remains a singular example of a high-quality genre film that struggled to compete in a marketplace dominated by animated family fare and superhero blockbusters.

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