Disney (and others) at the Box Office - Current State of Affairs

[Casper Gutman]

Dude…I hope it’s a good movie

I’ll see it

But you’re using way too high faluting words there for it

Marvel flick

Critics aren’t real people

The current critical and box office darling is a movie about gangsters fighting vampires directed by a once and future MCU director. Pop art is just as much art as high art, even if the subject matter can be boiled down to something silly.

 

[brideck]

In 1989…a visionary named “Al gore” invented the internet

It changed the landscape over time where success is determined by real time, multimedia saturation

And people learned to turn their brains off nearly all of the time. Alas.

There is no way you’re an Xer with this Pollyanna stuff…can’t be

Of course I am. You long for the original Star Wars to come back. I long for the time when people read things and thought about them and didn't just connect themselves to the funnel of algorithm-sorted content that their devices feed them.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Yep, have people forgotten that the MCU was build using Iron Man as a foundation, a character with minimal mainstream awareness?

People think that because the films have made Iron Man an integral part of the zeitgeist he must always have been A list. People don’t know pop culture history. Heck, they barely remember what was happening TO THEIR OWN LIVES five years ago!

 

[Casper Gutman]

Right now we have a Marvel film in theaters that critics are calling “gratifyingly fresh and soulful” and a Star Wars series that is being widely praised as the best and most socially relevant program of the year.

People who are still complaining don’t want excellent franchise media, they want a Time Machine that makes them 12 again.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And people learned to turn their brains off nearly all of the time. Alas.

I can’t say I disagree with that. But peeing upwind Is rarely successful

Of course I am. You long for the original Star Wars to come back. I long for the time when people read things and thought about them and didn't just connect themselves to the funnel of algorithm-sorted content that their devices feed them.

So no community college then?

Actually you’re more of the shoulder generation…ninja turtles. We need to work on your cynicism

And I actually don’t wish for Star Wars to “come back”…the theme is always the same: look at why it resonated and follow that path…it’s not hard. But terrible management screws up everything.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Right now we have a Marvel film in theaters that critics are calling “gratifyingly fresh and soulful” and a Star Wars series that is being widely praised as the best and most socially relevant program of the year.

People who are still complaining don’t want excellent franchise media, they want a Time Machine that makes them 12 again.

And you whiffed…

There’s like 3 people who keep talking about critics on these types of threads…

And for the 10,000th time…stock tickers don’t care about critics

 

[Prince-1]

I kinda have the same thoughts as Tony. It's a movie that has a bunch of second or third level characters in it. I look at the pictures and I'm like, "Oh it's Bucky and the other Black Widow girl and who is the big guy with the beard again? Am I supposed to know who all these other people are?"

No one knew who any of the characters were in GotG and I am pretty sure that did more than just ok.

 

[Ayla]

They sounds a lot closer to happening than my Google search did.

Seems like every time I turn on ESPN this week (for hockey) they are talking about Shedeur Sanders, everyone seems to agree he has talent and potential but his off the field issues are harming his career options… I think Zegler is the Shedeur of the acting world, if she can get her public image problems resolved I think she’ll be fine, if she can’t though, and another movie of hers has offscreen issues, I don’t think any level of talent is going to salvage her career.

Unless she has a highly problematic father, has only been coached by one person her entire life (said problematic father), is incredibly arrogant and entitled, considers herself at the height of her prowess and unteachable, they are not at all the same.

 

[easyrowrdw]

Thunderbolts* is an extremely well-reviewed film with strong thematic throughlines and character arcs from an auteurist writer and director starring a cast of critically acclaimed actors. It is also integral to the ongoing MCU storyline. It’s exactly the sort of film Marvel should be making.

If you don’t like superhero films, fine. But if you’ve enjoyed the MCU, it’s odd to be uninterested in the film because the characters sold fewer copies in the 80s.

Who are the auteurs? The director and one of the writers have primarily worked in TV and the other writer has worked on Marvel stuff, Kong, and Transformers. What is their distinctive style? I'm really not getting the description.

 

[Agent H]

The trailers for Stitch are actually winning me over. I've never seen the original. Might just get me to the theater.

You should watch the original before you watch the remake and if you like that there’s 3 sequels and a tv show you can watch.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Who are the auteurs? The director and one of the writers have primarily worked in TV and the other writer has worked on Marvel stuff, Kong, and Transformers. What is their distinctive style? I'm really not getting the description.

Have you read any reviews?

The director directed most of Beef and the writer is co-showrunner on The Bear and writer on Beef, Hacks, and BoJack, all among the most lauded and distinctive programs of the last decade.

 

[easyrowrdw]

Yep, have people forgotten that the MCU was build using Iron Man as a foundation, a character with minimal mainstream awareness?

This still throws me off. I'm not a comic book reader so I defer to the experts, but I was well aware of the main MCU people before their movies (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Cap). Maybe I'm an anomaly but until Guardians, all the MCU movies were centered on characters I could have told you about.

No one knew who any of the characters were in GotG and I am pretty sure that did more than just ok.

Okay. I didn't say you had to know the characters or that the movie wouldn't be successful. I shared my reaction to what I'd seen of the movie. It feels to me like a couple sidekicks are getting together with some people that I'm not sure if I should know or not. It feels haphazard, like filler, as the other poster said.

I felt similarly about Dr. Strange and Captain Marvel and Guardians 2. There were elements of those movies that became important for later films, but that didn't make the movies more interesting to me at the time. I mainly watched them because I was told they were important to the larger narrative. I'm sure this movie matters too, but my level of care about the MCU has diminished greatly.

 

[DKampy]

And you whiffed…

There’s like 3 people who keep talking about critics on these types of threads…

And for the 10,000th time…stock tickers don’t care about critics

And I don’t care about stock tickers…. What’s your point

 

[easyrowrdw]

Have you read any reviews?

The director directed most of Beef and the writer is co-showrunner on The Bear and writer on Beef, Hacks, and BoJack, all among the most lauded and distinctive programs of the last decade.

I have not read reviews of the movie.

I like the Bear. I think I was just looking at the writing credits so I only saw she was a writer but didn't realize she was the showrunner. I only watched the first season of Hacks and have not seen the others.

Thank you for the info! I get now what you were saying.

 

[Ghost93]

While COVID and the strikes are responsible of messing with the schedule, I think Phases 4 and 5 of the MCU have suffered from a lack of momentum and taking too long to reconnect with characters again.

Captain America 4 and Thunderbolts should have come out in like 2023, when the events of Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow were still somewhat fresh in people's minds. Agatha also feels like it should have come out 1-2 years earlier to better build off on the hype setup by WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And it's downright ridiculous that we haven't seen Shang-Chi again!

I will see Thunderbolts tonight and am sure I'll enjoy it. But I feel like it's the type of team-up movie that should have concluded Phase four of the MCU.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

This still throws me off. I'm not a comic book reader so I defer to the experts, but I was well aware of the main MCU people before their movies (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Cap). Maybe I'm an anomaly but until Guardians, all the MCU movies were centered on characters I could have told you about.

Hulk was well known from the TV show. The others weren't necessarily unknowns but didn't have a strong pop culture presence like Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman etc.

The MCU would have likely used Spider-Man as their lead character if they had the rights at the time. Just like DC is using Superman to re-launch their cinematic universe.

Marvel did a great job introducing lesser known characters and building to the Avengers. Doing so on the back of Iron Man was a challenge that could have gone another way.

It shows that using an already well established character isn't necessary. Smart casting and a focus on quality paid off. They also put in a lot of effort in terms of marketing and connecting with fans. It wasn't like a Batman reboot movie that comes with a built in audience.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

…tracking looks bad…gonna need some good luck here

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Ya’ know what would really be fun…
To get everyone on this whole forum in a convention room together with their user name tags and see how that turns out…!!!!!

What time should I showup?

 

[TP2000]

Hi gang. While driving yesterday from San Diego to Utah across the great Southwest desert, I lost track of all the billboards for Stitch I saw along I-15. A dozen? My famously accurate TP2000 Popdar (Pop Culture Radar) feels really good about that one.

I didn't see a single Thunderbolts billboard though. And per Variety, Thunderbolts is tracking to a $75 Million opening weekend. Is that good? Probably not if the budget was anything north of $150 Million.

Box Office: ‘Thunderbolts’ Targets $75 Million Opening Weekend

Will "Thunderbolts" bring the thunder to the box office?

variety.com

 

[TP2000]

Ya’ know what would really be fun…
To get everyone on this whole forum in a convention room together with their user name tags and see how that turns out…!!!!!

That's a hysterical idea! I love it!

Plot Twist: I'll be the Gen Z Latina convention worker in a polyester vest fiddling with the room's AC, until my big shock reveal!