‘The Fall Guy’ is a great movie, so why is no one seeing it?

“The Fall Guy” is one of the most delightful movies I’ve seen in the last year. Maybe the last decade.

The film, directed by David Leitch, is loosely based on a 1980s television series and features Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers, a stuntman who, after a near career-ending injury, is hired to work on his ex-friend’s directorial debut. After arriving on the set, the producer of the movie informs Seavers that the star is missing, and sends Seavers off to find him. Hijinks ensue — some hilarious, some thrilling, some romantic.

Emily Blunt plays Seaver’s ex-girlfriend and the director of the film within the film, “Metalstorm,” a very silly “Dune”-esque space opera with cowboys. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who was rumored to be the next James Bond, gives one of the funniest performances as the missing star of “Metalstorm,” Tom Ryder. And Hannah Waddingham plays the producer who hires Seavers to find Ryder. It’s a stacked cast full of charming actors who give winky performances over the two-hour run time.

The jokes, which are about the movie-making business and relationships, really work. When I saw the film, I was the only person in the theater, and I laughed out loud more than once. The action sequences are gripping and never run too long. The chemistry between Gosling and Blunt brings a fun and fresh energy.

It’s a movie I plan to show my older kids. It’s very chaste for a movie with an adult relationship at its core, and the violence never turns grotesque. There are a few instances of vulgar language, which helps account for the PG-13 rating. It’s a cliche, but in my opinion, “The Fall Guy” really is fun for the whole family, or at least those with kids over age 13.

So why is no one seeing it?

The film is a darling of critics with an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore. But the positive reviews have been eclipsed by a disappointing box-office performance. The movie made only $28.5 million on its opening weekend, and with a budget of $130 million, plus another $100 million in marketing, the movie is not on track to turn a profit.

I’ve seen a number of theories as to why “The Fall Guy” is not performing well despite its quality and appeal. But I have a theory of my own.

The first weekend in May has historically been the time when Marvel movies were released, and those movies always perform well. On the same weekend in 2023, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ made $289.3 million. “The Fall Guy,” however, is for a significantly different audience.

“The Fall Guy” is for the moms.

On his podcast “The Town,” Matt Belloni posed the question, “Does Ryan Gosling mean anything to men?” and went on to explain that Gosling’s top movies have been “Barbie,” “La La Land” and “Crazy Stupid Love.” The audiences for those movies all skewed heavily female.

While Gosling and Blunt are arguably two of our biggest Hollywood stars right now with their Barbenheimer summer, Gosling is 43 years old and Emily Blunt is 41. The viewers who are going to want to see an action/rom-com between two stars in their forties are women in their forties. The moms.

Also, this is an especially busy time of year for moms. Our schedules are packed with end-of-school activities, parties and sports games. In my family, we have four different events just this weekend, and even more next week.

As much as I want to take my tweens to see “The Fall Guy,” it will be nearly impossible to find a free evening in May to do so. It seems to me that a perfectly good movie was squandered on a release date that doesn’t really work for the audience who would appreciate it the most.

I hope the movie hangs on in theaters until June when my family has a little more availability in our schedules. And I hope those who have seen and loved the movie tell others to go see it so “The Fall Guy” becomes a sleeper hit. We need Hollywood to make more charming and hilarious movies that we can take our kids to see.

The takeaway for studios from the disappointing opening is not that movies like this shouldn’t be made, but instead that these movies should be released at a time that makes the most sense for its target audience.

Because we need more movies for the moms.

“The Fall Guy” is rated PG-13 for violence and drug use and is in theaters now.