Alec Baldwin and Patrick Scott McDermott in “Rust.”
Rust — The controversial Alec Baldwin movie in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot to death during filming — is a bust in its opening weekend in theaters.
The shooting tragedy took place on the New Mexico set of Rust on Oct. 21, 2021, when a live round in a prop gun Baldwin was holding that he thought contained blanks went off and struck Hutchins in the chest. The cinematographer later died at a local hospital while director Joel Souza, who was struck in the shoulder by the same bullet, recovered from his injuries.
Baldwin was charged twice with involuntary manslaughter in the case but the first set of charges were dismissed in April of 2023 and the second set of charges were dropped in July of 2024.
The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter and was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin and Souza went on to finish Rust in 2023 and the film premiered at the Camerimage Film Festival in Poland in November of 2024. Rust debuted simultaneously on digital streaming and in theaters Friday, but the film registered little business in the case of the latter.
According to Deadline, Rust is projected to make $25,000 from 115 North American theaters, which amounts to a per-screen average of $215. Deadline explained that the poor turnout for Rust in theaters stems from the film’s availability to stream on digital video.
Rust had a production budget of about $8 million before prints and advertising, per The Hollywood Reporter.
How Did Critics React To ‘Rust’?
As of Saturday, Rust has earned a 46% “rotten” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 24 reviews.
Among the top critics on RT who give Rust a “rotten” rating is David Fear, who, like many critics mentions the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins in his assessment. Fear writes on RT, “The fact that Hutchins’ work here is the best thing the movie has going for it only compounds both the irony and the tragedy.”
Nick Schager of The Daily Beast also gives Rust a “rotten” review, writing on RT, “A dour affair made all the grimmer by the fact that there isn’t a second of its 139 minutes that isn’t colored, in some way, by the on-set shooting that made it notable, and notorious, in the first place.”
Mahola Dargis of The New York Times is among the top critics on RT who gives Rust a “fresh” review, writing, “What is undeniable is that because Rust looks as good as it does, every time riders on horseback appear against a florid sky, it isn’t the characters you think about — it’s Halyna Hutchins.”
Rafer Guzman of Newsday also gives the film a “fresh” on RT, writing, “Despite a tragic back story, this Western holds its own with grit, depth and moments of beauty.”
Rust is playing in theaters and is available on PVOD.
