Is MrBeast and James Patterson’s Novel Collaboration Headed for a Disastrous Debut?

Could MrBeast and James Patterson have a dud on their hands?

According to Semafor, the pair’s new novel collaboration, titled The Most Dangerous Games, has been tracking poorly in presales.

Citing anonymous sources “close to the project,” Semafor reported that the thriller is “on track to be a historic bomb.” As of last week, preorders were “numbering in the four digits … a tiny fraction of what the publisher will need to justify Patterson’s and YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson’s [aka MrBeast] hefty fees.” As of Monday, the book was at No. 18 on Amazon’s new releases list.

However, another knowledgeable source told The Hollywood Reporter that the number of preorders is not unusual, particularly for a genre novel, and that what really matters is first-week sales. They also pointed out that the book is currently at No. 1 on the mystery novels list.

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to reps for book publisher HarperCollins for comment.