Cry Macho was filmed from November to December 2020 in the state of New Mexico; Ben Davis was the cinematographer, Mark Mancina was the composer, and Joel and David Cox were the editors.

She pretends to be agreeable as previous attempts by Howard to get the boy have failed, and tells him that Rafo has turned to a life of crime, and participates in cockfights with his rooster, Macho.

During the drive there, the pair share stories about their lives, including how Leta's henchmen used to abuse Rafo, and discuss the meaning of being "macho."

[14][15] In 2011, he said his first movie after his time as governor would be Cry Macho, with Brad Furman at the helm and filming set to take place in New Mexico.

[16][17] However, the project, was canceled after Schwarzenegger's divorce with Maria Shriver, following the revelation that he had fathered a son a decade earlier with an employee in their household.

The screenplay included additional contributions by Nick Schenk, who previously worked with Eastwood on Gran Torino (2008) and The Mule (2018).

[25] Crew members had to follow safety protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including social distancing and daily testing.

[27][28] According to the New Mexico State Film Office, the production employed 250 crew, ten supporting cast members, and over 600 local background extras.

[31] The soundtrack album, released by WaterTower Music on September 10, 2021, features an original song, "Find a New Home" written by Mancina and performed by Will Banister.

"[34][35][36] Based on the promotional material, Empire's James White said the film would be Eastwood's "latest examination of the changing face of machismo".

Club said the trailer expressed "more heartwarming elements—advice, definitions of masculinity, cockfighting—while focusing on the relationship between Eastwood and the kid he's maybe, kind of, sort of kidnapped.

"[38] In late August, representatives from Warner Bros. Pictures discussed how the studio would release its films in the future, said they had "found a way to make it work," and presented a pre-recorded hour-long reel showcasing their upcoming projects at CinemaCon, which included the trailer for Cry Macho and a special tribute piece for Eastwood.

[39] In September, several featurettes with a focus on Eastwood's career were released, featuring several clips from Cry Macho and Eastwood's filmography alongside recorded messages from producers Albert S. Ruddy and Tim Moore as well as Morgan Freeman, Mel Gibson, Gene Hackman, John Lee Hancock, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, and Hilary Swank.

"[44] After the film was released, however, Forbes said Cry Macho was going to flop at the box office because "the marketing allure of 'See Clint Eastwood onscreen ... one last time' was going to wear off.

The film was originally set to premiere on October 22,[46] but was pushed forward as a result of a release date shuffle with Dune and The Many Saints of Newark.

[57] TheWrap's Jeremy Fuster predicted older male demographics would most likely stream the film on HBO Max and would go see it in theaters only if it received positive word of mouth.

The analytics firm EntTelligence said older patrons saw the film in theaters early in the afternoon, with 88% of all audiences showing up before 8:00 pm.

[55][59] Variety describes the film's poor performance at the box office as being similar to recent releases from Warner Bros. Pictures during the COVID-19 pandemic such as Reminiscence and Malignant.

[67] As of December 28, 2021, the film's largest markets were Spain ($835,056), Italy ($831,284), France ($810,000), Portugal ($119,096), Greece ($106,000), the U.K. ($96,742), Mexico ($95,000), Argentina ($82,000), Australia ($59,679), and the Netherlands ($33,366).

The website's consensus reads: "Cry Macho proves Clint Eastwood remains an economic filmmaker and charismatic screen presence – albeit one who's an awkward fit for this particular project.

"[70] Glenn Kenny, writing for RogerEbert.com, gave the film three and a half stars out of four, lauding it for its cinematography and second act, where "small events transpire in beautifully shot, unhurried scenes.

"[71] From The New York Times, A. O. Scott found it to be a "hangout movie with nothing much to prove and just enough to say," gave positive feedback to the film's score and scenery, and wrote about Eastwood, "If the old man's driving, my advice is to get in and enjoy the ride.

"[72] Nick Schenk's screenplay received generally negative reviews and was called "weak" by CNN's Brian Lowry and G. Allen Johnson from the San Francisco Chronicle.

[73][74] In a mixed review, David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter described it as "the kind of movie where, rather than let the audience observe the gradual development of a mutual understanding, we get Eastwood's Mike Milo spelling it out.

"[75] From the Los Angeles Times, Justin Chang wrote that the film's themes tackling machismo were well-supported by the performances of the leads but said the story was repetitive and too similar to Gran Torino and The Mule.

"[77] The New Yorker's Richard Brody added that "the movie's heartening adventure gets its retrospective, tall-tale air from its implication of narrow, quasi-miraculous escapes, from the very suggestion of its implausibility.

Somehow, when we look at Mike, we don't see Eastwood the 91-year-old actor, but Clint the icon — not so much ageless as preserved in weathered glory, cinema's forever haunted cowboy.

"[80] Oliver Jones from The New York Observer disagreed and said Cry Macho would disappoint filmgoers, leaving them with "wistful memories of what once was.