Summary
Ambulancestarring Jake Gyllenhaal ascends to the global Netflix top 10 chart 2 years after hitting theaters. Directed by Michael Bay,Ambulancestars Gyllenhaalas Danny Sharp,a thief who finds himself on the run in a stolen ambulancewith his brother, Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), after a bank robbery goes wrong. Despite generally positive reviews from critics, the film was a box office disappointment, grossing only $52.3 million worldwide.
Now, new data fromNetflixreveals thatAmbulanceranks as the ninth most popular movie on the streamer globally for the week of August 12 – 18. The Bay film racked up an impressive 9.3 million hours viewed and 4.1 million views in total.Ambulancehandily beatsTrolls Band Together(2023), but falls short of other titles likeFerdinand(2017),Night School(2018), andInside the Mind of a Dog(2024).
18 Best Jake Gyllenhaal Movies, Ranked
From Donnie Darko to Ambulance, Jake Gyllenhaal delivers - and the best Jake Gyllenhaal movies are some of the best character acting in cinema.
Why Ambulance Disappointed At The Box Office
Positive Reviews Didn’t Save The Michael Bay Movie
Ambulance marks Bay’s follow-up to6 Undergroundin 2019 andTransformers: The Last Knightin 2017, neither of which were well received. TheAmbulancereviews, however, generally praised the film as a fun bit of “Bayhem” with lots of action and an entertaining lead performance from Gyllenhaal. OnRotten Tomatoes,Ambulancecurrently enjoys a respectable 68% critics' score and an impressive 88% audience score, two of Bay’s highest scores in years.
68%
88%
36%
60%
16%
43%
52%
83%
18%
50%
47%
35%
55%
Unfortunately, however, this positive audience sentiment wasn’t reflected inAmbulance’s box office performance as the film likely failed to break-even with its $40 million budget.One reason is certainly the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.Though the writing was on the wall before COVID, the pandemic largely made audiences far more picky about what movies are worth seeing in theaters, and theBay action movieseemingly didn’t make the cut.
Using the standard Hollywood rule of thumb,Ambulancewas likely looking at a break-even point of roughly $100 million.
It’s notable, however, that theacclaimedTop Gun: Maverickhit theaters only one month later in 2022 and became a massive success, grossing $1.496 billion worldwide. WithAmbulance, it’s certainly possible thatGyllenhaal alone isn’t enough to open a movie now, as neither Abdul-Mateen II nor Eiza González are really household names. Bay, too, it seems, isn’t like Christopher Nolan in the sense that his name alone is a major audience draw. ThoughAmbulancemay not have been a hit in theaters in 2022, the new Netflix data certainly suggests that it’s finding its audience now.
“Ambulance is a good time at the movies and one of the most fun Bay films in a long while. The editing elevates the high-stakes tension and the action sequences are exciting, rarely losing their edge. While the film meanders for a bit and is longer than need be, it maintains a good balance between character dynamics and the thrill of the chase. And with a fantastic cast at its center, audiences will surely be entertained overall.” -Mae Abdulbaki-Screen Rant’s Ambulance Review
Ambulance Continues An Unfortunate Jake Gyllenhaal Trend
Gyllenhaal is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable actors working in Hollywood today, buthe doesn’t have a strong reputation as a leading man who draws audiences to theaters. In the world of streaming, he’s found success with projects likeThe Guilty(2021), Prime Video’sRoad House(2024), andApple TV+‘sPresumed Innocent, which became a major hit. Looking at his theatrically-released movies since 2015, however, paints a different picture.
Gyllenhaal had two hits in 2015 withSouthpawandEverest, butDemolitiondidn’t make a mark commercially. 2016’sNocturnal Animals, despite being critically-acclaimed, also wasn’t a box office success. Other notable Gyllenhaal films that could be considered commercial disappointments includeStronger(2017),Wildlife(2018), andThe Sisters Brothers(2018). 2019’sSpider-Man: Far From Homewas certainly a hit, butGyllenhaal himself obviously isn’t the main draw hereso much as the character of Spider-Man is.
Gyllenhaal’s three highest-grossing films areSpider-Man: Far From Home,The Day After Tomorrow(2004), andPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time(2010).
In the 2020s, Gyllenhaal projects likeSpirit Untamed(2021),Strange World(2022), andGuy Ritchie’s The Covenant(2023) also underwhelmed.Ambulance, then, isn’t an outlier for the actor, and it speaks to just how few actors in Hollywood these days can be considered true “movie stars,” in the sense that their star power alone is enough to bring audiences to theaters. Tom Cruise, of course, remains one of the last true movie stars with this power, though younger actors like Timothée Chalamet and Glen Powell do now have multiple projects to suggest they also could be following in his footsteps.
What is Michael Bay’s best movie?
Michael Bay’s filmography is hit or miss, but he’s made some fun movies that I find incredibly entertaining. His first three Transformers movies aren’t the greatest cinematic works of the century, but the humor and action hold up surprisingly well. Recently, I also enjoyed Ambulance as a throwback crime/action movie of the ilk of’ 90s/’00s movies from those genres.
What’s Next For Michael Bay After Ambulance?
The Transformers Director Has One Especially Interesting Movie On The Horizon
Ambulancemarked a fun return to a classic Bay style of action, but there have been relatively few updates on what the blockbuster filmmaker will be doing next. He remains active as a producer and is set to produce an American remake of 2011’sThe Raid,Armored, an action thriller, and the upcomingTransformersandG.I. Joecrossover film. He’s also producing a horror film calledApartment 7A, which serves as a prequel to the iconicRosemary’s Babyfrom 1968.
On the directing front, Bay has two projects of note coming up, including a TV documentary series calledBorn Evil: The Serial Killer and the Savior.More in line with his past work, however, is a film calledRobopocalypse, which takes place after a destructive robot uprising. Few details are known about the project, but hopefully it continuesAmbulance’s positive critical reception while also finding box office success.
Ambulance
Cast
Michael Bay returns to the director’s chair with Ambulance, an action-thriller film that follows siblings Danny and Will Sharp in a high-stakes heist that goes terribly wrong. When Afghanistan veteran Will’s wife needs medical treatment they can’t afford, Will seeks help from his criminal-record-toting brother, Danny. To help him, Danny offers him the chance to join him on the biggest heist of his life, which would take care of his wife and more. But when the heist goes wrong, the two find themselves hijacking an ambulance with a wounded officer and a stellar EMT as they attempt to fend off law enforcement in a bombastic unyielding chase across Los Angeles.
