Game. In May 2009, another name change was announced, the new name being Gamer. Release Box office Gamer had an opening day gross of $3.3 million and ranked fourth at the box office. In total, the film earned $9.2 million in its opening weekend. Overall, the film grossed $21.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $20.7 million in other territories for worldwide cumulative of $42 million, against its $50 million budget. Critical reception Metacritic rated Gamer 27/100 based on 13 reviews, which it terms "generally unfavorable reviews". The film holds a 30% rating from 81 reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 4.25/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With all of the hyperkinetic action and none of the flair of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's earlier work, Gamer has little replay value." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C" on scale of A to F. Critic Joe Neumaier of The New York Daily News called it a "Xerox of a Xerox" and cited a number of films it supposedly takes elements from, including The Matrix and Rollerball. RVA Magazine wrote that Gamers plot was overly similar to The Condemned and commented that Gamer "hates its primary audience" and "tries to criticize the commercialization of violence, even though it itself is commercialized violence". Cultural critic Steven Shaviro authored a 10,000 word defense and analysis of the film that he posted online, and eventually re-worked into the penultimate chapter of his book, Post-Cinematic Affect (Zer0 Books, 2010). References External links 2009 films Cyberpunk films 2000s English-language films 2000s prison films 2009 science fiction action films American science fiction action films Films about death games Films about telepresence Films about video games Films about virtual reality Fiction about mind control Films directed by Neveldine/Taylor Films produced by Gary Lucchesi Films scored by Geoff Zanelli Films set in New York (state) Films set in the 2030s Films shot in New Mexico American prison films Lakeshore Entertainment films Lionsgate films 2000s American films