Gerard Butler and Channing Tatum went head-to-head in 2013 with their duelling action movies, Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down, and you can judge which is best as they stream for free. This wasn’t the first time in Hollywood history that two movies arrived in the same year with the same basic premise.
For instance, 1997 saw Dante’s Peak and the aptly titled Volcano erupting at the box office, while 1998 followeded heroes of Armageddon and Deep Impact as they battled asteroids. In 2013, White House Down battled with Olympus Has Fallen, which both involved terrorists taking over the White House, while quippy, square-jawed American heroes fought to take it back.
White House Down & Olympus Has Fallen Are Both Streaming For Free On YouTube
You can revisit this 2013 box office battle right now, as White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen are both streaming on YouTube for free. There was great curiosity at the time over which film would prove the bigger hit, but Olympus Has Fallen had the competitive edge.
It cost less than half of White House Down’s $150 million budget (via Box Office Mojo), and was released three months before its rival. Neither blockbuser received particularly nice reviews, but Olympus Has Fallen’s retro, 1990s tone and R-rating appealed to an audience who had become bored with PG-13 fare.
Olympus Has Fallen Won The Box-Office Battle
It might simply be that it arrived first, but Olympus Has Fallen was the box office winner of this dueling “Die Hard in the White House” battle. White House Down may have grossed a shade over $200 million worldwide, but its hefty budget meant it was still a bomb.
Olympus Has Fallen earned $170 million on a reported $70 million budget, earning a comfortable profit. It proved to have legs too, with star Gerard Butler returning for two more Has Fallen movies: London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen. A fourth film was also in the works, but it appears to be on a backburner currently.
The property also received a TV spinoff with 2024’s Paris Has Fallen, which followed two new protagonists preventing a wave of attacks in France’s capital. The show was well-received and will return for a second series dubbed Apollo Has Fallen; an airdate for the new season has yet to be confirmed.
Judge For Yourself Which White House Action Movie Is Best
Now the hype and promo campaigns have long ceased on White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen, their arrival on YouTube gives viewers the chance to judge for themselves which is best. Is it Olympus…, with its stellar cast, gory action, and darker tone, or the more lighthearted, bombastic White House Down?
Perhaps a back-to-back double bill is the best way to judge if White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen hold up after 13 years. Maybe add the White House siege story arc from 24 season 7 to make it a bizarre trilogy of sorts.
Source: Box Office Mojo