Director Joe Carnahan has stated that marketing, not the film, is the reason for The A-Team's underperformance in 2010 box-office underperformance. In comments to Empire, Carnahan suggested that the marketing campaign "missed the mark" and suggested that three of the film's potential sequels should have been made. The film, based on the 1980s TV series, grossed $177.2 million worldwide and opened during the FIFA World Cup, competing with The Karate Kid.