Rebecca Ferguson’s New Sci-Fi Thriller Plummets on Rotten Tomatoes After Merciless Reviews

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Two flags frame Judge Maddox, who stares straight ahead, expressionless.

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Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him).

Only one major new movie is lined up for release this week, and things aren't looking good for it. Starring Rebecca Ferguson and Chris Pratt, the quasi-screenlife sci-fi thriller Mercy is poised to underperform at the box office in its first weekend, on the back of terrible reviews. The movie might, however, earn a spot in trivia contests if it manages to break Avatar: Fire and Ash's five-week streak of success at the domestic box office. Mercy is currently looking at a $10 million debut over the weekend, while Avatar 3 is poised to fall into the single-digit zone for the first time in its run, following a massive snub at the Oscars. The epic sci-fi threequel wasn't expected to make the sort of impression that its predecessors did, considering its lukewarm reviews, but it still managed to score two nods. Few would nominate Mercy, though, going by its plummeting Rotten Tomatoes score.

The movie is now sitting at a rough 24% score on the aggregator website, but it doesn't yet have a critics' consensus. In his review for Collider, Jeff Ewing praised Ferguson's performance in the film and wrote that it is "altogether an engaging investigation that's twisty, complex, and surprisingly action-packed for a screenlife-inspired outing." Ferguson holds the rather unusual distinction of being involved in two genre-defining sci-fi projects concurrently — Denis Villeneuve's Dune trilogy, and the acclaimed Apple TV dystopian drama Silo. Both projects are set to return with third installments this year. However, Mercy is among her worst-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes, with a lower score than her forgotten 2021 neo-noir sci-fi film Reminiscence (37%), and the thriller film The Girl on the Train (44%). It has, however, earned a higher score than the Scandi-noir movie The Snowman (7%), which isn't saying much, considering its director claimed that it was released unfinished.

'Mercy' Is Directed by the Pioneer of the Screenlife Format

Mercy is a blow for Pratt as well, after a decade during which he headlined multiple blockbuster franchises simultaneously. He's now done with the two biggest ones — Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy. The movie follows his character as he collects evidence to clear his name after being accused of murdering his wife, and is judged by an AI that he helped create. Produced on a reported budget of $60 million, Mercy is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who seems to have dedicated himself to the screenlife format. He hasn't made a Hollywood film in over a decade, and remains best known for the comic book adaptation Wanted, which featured Pratt in a supporting role. You can watch Mercy in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.