"The Marvels" on pace to be the MCU's first massive bomb

[Alben Barkley]

https://screenrant.com/the-marvels-ticket-presales-projections-black-adam-the-flash-bomb-comparison/

Ticket sales for the next Marvel Cinematic Universe film, "The Marvels," are worse than two historic bombs from the rival DC Cinematic Universe from the past year alone.

If this pace continues, this nearly 300 million dollar film (without accounting for marketing costs) might be lucky to make 2/3rds of its budget back.

In other words, it looks like an unmitigated disaster for Marvel and comic book films in general.

Indeed, this year might be the first year in a while where the top few highest-grossing films won't be Marvel or comic book films; the three hour historical biopic Oppenheimer grossed millions more than Disney/Marvel's highest grossing film, Guardians of the Galaxy Part 3.

Are we FINALLY seeing a sea change? Will the 2020s be the decade where audiences reject superheroes and comic book films and ask for some more actual movies for adults again? Hell, even the year's highest grosser Barbie (though also a franchise film) was more adult and intelligent than capes--t has been for years.

I certainly hope so...

[Alben Barkley]

The fact is the MCU should have ended the franchise with Endgame as that was almost a perfect ending for the franchise and then have your occasional Spider-Man movie every couple years .

Generally agree, but I was disappointed in No Way Home. I’m just not a fan of the multiverse as the MCU used it there or in Wandavision/Dr Strange 2. It’s just too pessimistic imo. I loved the first two Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, but the third just wasn’t fun and I didn’t enjoy it.

I’ve heard good things about Loki, but haven’t had the chance to watch it.

Won’t be seeing The Marvels mostly because, like others have mentioned, I don’t have the time to invest into watching mediocre shows to get the backstory. It was enough to watch all the movies ahead of Infinity War/Endgame.

Didn't even see the other Spider-Man MCU sequels. No Way Home I ONLY watched and kinda liked for Tobey Maguire. I'd much MUCH rather see a proper Spider-Man 4 starring him and Kirsten Dunst and directed by Sam Raimi, with an adult Spider-Man (perhaps even with his daughter featured as well), than any other superhero movie imaginable. I can't be alone in this, nostalgia is at an all-time high... Sony would be dumb NOT to make this. Especially if the MCU is sinking anyway, just ditch it and do your own thing with the OG Spider-Man.

[Alben Barkley]

Seeing reports from box office nerds that this has the potential to literally be the biggest box office bomb of all-time. Even worse than Indy 5.

Wow, this has been a hell of a year for bombs at the box office! And that's before you even look at Oppenheimer!

[Alben Barkley]

Seeing reports from box office nerds that this has the potential to literally be the biggest box office bomb of all-time. Even worse than Indy 5.

Uh, have you heard of "Heaven's Gate"?
"Cutthroat Island"?
"Ishtar"?

None of those lost as much money as this will. That’s how a bomb is defined. A film can make less money but if it has a lower budget, it won't bomb as hard as a huge budget film that flops.

[Alben Barkley]

They're losing hundreds of millions of dollars. I am actually what would presumably be one of Marvel's target demographics, not that I have ever liked their movies, but I don't even know who they are even trying to appeal to now.

The only MCU movie to lose money under normal circumstances (not released during the pandemic) is Ant-Man 3. Everything else was profitable. Some of you people must learn the difference between one movie underperforming at the box office and being a bomb.

This one is, again, about to literally be potentially the biggest bomb of all-time in terms of dollars lost, topping Disney's own John Carter and The Lone Ranger, two disasters from the early 2010s. Let alone this year's Dial of Destiny and The Flash.

This is not just me saying this, this is the forecast from box office experts based on hard data that's being confirmed now that the movie's been released.

Some people must learn what the definition of what a "bomb" is and stop being so f--king unwarrantedly smug when you're objectively wrong.

[Alben Barkley]

Seeing reports from box office nerds that this has the potential to literally be the biggest box office bomb of all-time. Even worse than Indy 5.

Uh, have you heard of "Heaven's Gate"?
"Cutthroat Island"?
"Ishtar"?

None of those lost as much money as this will. That’s how a bomb is defined. A film can make less money but if it has a lower budget, it won@5 bomb as hard as a huge budget film that flops.

Heaven's Gate literally bankrupted one of Hollywood's oldest and most renowned studios.
It is until today the definition of a box office bomb and perhaps the most infamous movie of all time.

(It's also pretty good if you aren't intimidated by its runtime and sit down to watch it)

It is also nearly 45 years old. The industry has changed and one bomb is not capable of sinking a studio anymore. Any one of these disastrous Disney flops would've easily killed United Artists just like Heaven's Gate did.

Disney doesn’t really consider any of them bombs as it doesn’t matter what the terminally only middle aged dudes think because the studio makes its money.

Except they're not making money. That's the point.

Disney's only real success this year is the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, and even that arguably underperformed by only matching its predecessor's gross, which means it made less adjusted for inflation. Every other movie from all their studios -- the massive disaster that was Indy 5, the failed to break even Little Mermaid remake and Pixar movie Elemental, the previous MCU movie Ant-Man -- they all flopped. This one and Indy are the big BOMBS though. Oh along with that Haunted Mansion movie I almost forgot existed already.

It's utterly laughable and only reveals one's total ignorance on the subject to claim the studio is "making its money" and only "terminally online middle age dudes" dislike recent Disney films. They are literally losing money and people across all demographics are not showing up to see these movies. Obviously it's not going to bankrupt a giant like Disney to have one bad year at the box office, but it's absurd to pretend it's still 2019 and they are rolling out hit after hit when the opposite is true.

[Alben Barkley]

Well this movie was indeed an absolute dud, to put it politely.

This is the kind of bomb that rocks cinematic universes and studios.

I think Disney/Marvel messed up big time by making a bunch of streaming shows nobody asked for and basically making them required viewing for movies nobody asked for either. They should have waited a few years after the complete climax that was Endgame to build an appetite and nostalgia for Marvel/superhero movies again, and this time focused on a completely separate plot with their acquired properties from Fox, X-Men and Fantastic Four. Instead this multiverse s--t has been weird and confusing and turned off audiences, and they have oversaturated the market with samey garbage. Oh and now the guy who was supposed to be their main antagonist is in legal jeopardy, and the guy who made their biggest solo movie from before tragically died, to make matters worse.

As it is, their blunders might cause capes--t to go the way of the dodo or disco. Not that I'm complaining.

[Alben Barkley]

If there's one thing the manosphere dudebros do seem to be right about it's that Marvel is trying to replace every single character with a young girl who acquires all the powers and knowledge with zero effort and just seems to immediately be an expert on how to utilize those powers.  And that Marvel usually drives this point home by making her smarter and better than the original superhero, often emphasized with a scene between the two where she condescendingly proves her superiority over him.  I find these scenes not just annoying but also predictable.  But I'm more annoyed that these characters often seem as little more than advertisements for TV shows.

That's the same BS these cousin-humping, mouth-breathing, racist troglodytes were saying about Rey in the Star Wars sequels, being a Mary Sue and what.
And that's why I'll ask somebody to give me a specific example of an MCU project where that happened because I can't recall.

And they were right about Rey too.

What I notice from fanboys like you who will defend whatever schlock Disney puts out is that rarely are you ever actually defending the quality of the film in question, let alone rebutting the actual arguments against it. Instead you're just launching ad hominem attacks against everyone who didn't like the film as racist/incel/Nazi/etc.* Almost like you don't actually like the movie really, you're just afraid to dislike it because of the perceived political implications. Well, some of us are unafraid to admit the emperor has no clothes.

*This despite the fact that in this most recent case, nearly two-thirds of the audience was male! It wasn't MEN who rejected The Marvels... Almost like superhero movies are in general more popular with men and you won't win over the female audience with lazy pandering. Almost like movies actually made for female tastes like Barbie will do much better with that demographic, especially when they're also just better made films.

[Alben Barkley]

If there's one thing the manosphere dudebros do seem to be right about it's that Marvel is trying to replace every single character with a young girl who acquires all the powers and knowledge with zero effort and just seems to immediately be an expert on how to utilize those powers.  And that Marvel usually drives this point home by making her smarter and better than the original superhero, often emphasized with a scene between the two where she condescendingly proves her superiority over him.  I find these scenes not just annoying but also predictable.  But I'm more annoyed that these characters often seem as little more than advertisements for TV shows.

That's the same BS these cousin-humping, mouth-breathing, racist troglodytes were saying about Rey in the Star Wars sequels, being a Mary Sue and what.
And that's why I'll ask somebody to give me a specific example of an MCU project where that happened because I can't recall.

racism is when u dont like moovie

Nah, their main selling point is misogynism. That's why their Unholy Trinity of Wokeism is Ghostbusters 2016, the live-action Mulan, and Captain Marvel.

Huh? Mulan didn't race-swap or gender-swap the main character. People just hated it for the same reason they hate all those live-action Disney adaptations: they suck.

Also as I understand it they cut out all the music and Mushu and basically the life in general from the film.

But no, I who as a kid who loved the animated Mulan despite its protagonist being an Asian woman, must actually be a racist sexist because I have no interest in watching a soulless Disney live-action remake.

[Alben Barkley]

And like I said, they're clearly pulling back and recalibrating. People pronouncing this 'The death of Marvel' are speaking way too son, I think.

Funnily all these incel losers who celebrate the death of Marvel had nothing to say about the second season of Loki. Isn't that weird?

Scorsese’s been awful quiet since that fire dropped 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Let's also take a moment to step back and admire how he literally called us "incels" for celebrating the death of capes--t that at one time at least was only really admired by "incels" or their equivalent.

I'm getting married next year. 😂😂😂😂

These NPC clowns are so predictable it's not even funny anymore. "Don't like my capes--t? You must be [insert politically charged, terminally online insult here]. It couldn't possibly be that you just have actual taste and are sick to death of played out, overdone, boring, lazy, pandering, soulless, cookie cuter, formulaic, directionless, garbage, corporate movies and want to see something new and original!"

Again, I want to emphasize this point: I LIKED the Barbie movie! Putting me on the same level as Ben Shapiro or something, as some "incel" who just hates all things "woke" or something, is demonstrably, laughably false. But he literally can't handle the truth apparently, LMFAO.

[Alben Barkley]

In any case, I think the only thing that could actually get me back into theaters for a comic book movie again is my Raimi Spider-Man 4 idea.

I remember walking out of Logan back in 2015 and thinking that was a fitting end to the superhero genre, and that I was pretty much exhausted and done with the rest already.

I didn't see another superhero movie again in theaters for 4 years. I skipped even Infinity War until it came out on streaming and the hype and internet memes made it all but unavoidable. It was good enough and had a solid enough cliffhanger that I did indeed buy into the Endgame hype and see it opening weekend. But after THAT, I thought I was DEFINITELY done.

Then the bastards went and got Tobey Maguire back for No Way Home. They found my "kryptonite" (no pun intended) and that was enough to get me back for old time's sake. It still is the only way to get me back, simply due to the insane love and nostalgia I still have for those Raimi movies. Because they had heart and soul, unlike almost all their successors.

I tried watching The Batman on streaming, and despite at one time liking Batman, couldn't even finish it. It just seemed too grimdark and edgy and stupid, turning Batman into a straight-up emo who listens to "Something in the Way" all the time. Batman needs a little camp again, frankly. Doesn't have to be Batman and Robin again, but inferior Dark Knight ripoffs are gonna get real stale real fast. So unless that changes, I won't even be back for another Batman movie.

Literally the only thing that is guaranteed to bring me back is exactly what I said earlier in the thread: Give Sam Raimi complete creative control and bring back Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. I'll be there opening night, and I suspect the nostalgia factor could make it 2 billion dollars. Anything else? I'll wait for streaming and most likely not even watch it even then. (Lol at Landslide Lyndon thinking "Loki Season 2" is some kind of checkmate on us "incels," as if I even have watched any of Marvel's streaming crap.)

[Alben Barkley]

Looks like Aquaman 2, also the sequel to a billion dollar comic book movie from a few years ago, is about to go down in flames as well. Early presales suggest it might do even WORSE than The Marvels!

LMFAO, I feel so vindicated after being told for so long that "superhero fatigue isn't real." It's real, and it's SPECTACULAR!

Basically how I feel now that capes--t is finally going the way of disco:

[Alben Barkley]

Disney's Wish -- their 100th anniversary special princess animated movie, which should have been a slam dunk for them -- is crashing and burning. Just 19.5 million in its opening three day weekend, coming in third behind the second week of The Hunger Games and Napoleon. Even the five day opening total accounting for Thanksgiving is below The Marvels' opening weekend, and below THG/Napoleon.

Absolute disaster, even worse than The Marvels. And this animated movie somehow cost 200 million dollars!

It's clear at this point that the rot has set in all across Disney, not just in Marvel or Lucasfilm. People no longer trust them or are willing to shell out their hard-earned money to see anything they slap their name on. My how things have changed in just a few short years. It's great to see them finally get what they deserve for their laziness and creative bankruptcy. Turns out just dumping piles of money into uninspired movies won't cut it anymore!