At least that is what sources behind the scenes are claiming that insiders think.
After all that build up and advertising blitz of Phoenix and Lady Gaga setting to rock our Gotham City world, critics and movie goers alike had similar reactions: Shock and awe at the failure that was JOKER 2.. So many hated the entire film. Others just hated the ended..
(PS, we liked it until the final 5 minutes. All that cross universe nonsense.)
But who is to blame?
THE STAR!!
The Hollywood Reporter, their sources claim that Phoenix is being blamed as a big reason for Joker: Folie à Deux’s critical results. The publication reports, “the idea for the sequel came to Phoenix in a dream,” leading to the Academy-Award-winning actor and director Todd Phillips to pitch it to now-former-chairman of Warner Bros., Toby Emmerich. When asked who the targeted audience was for the DC sequel, “one outside source sums it up this way: “For Joaquin.””
Perhaps the real blame lays at the feet of Warner itself. Should this sequel have even been made?
No one seems to be smiling all the way to the bank in the aftermath of this comically bad disaster…
The second weekend of September for all movies came close to the $100M mark for the first time since pre-Covid 2019 thanks to Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuicerally at the box office, coming in at $51.6M weekend (-56%) after a second Friday of $14.4M and Saturday of $22.5M.
The running US domestic total is $188M with global at $264.3M.
We finally got the chance to see this movie in a crowded theater.. well worth it. Grab popcorn and sit back to one of the most enjoyable and least pretentious movies in a long time.
Michael Keaton outdid himself. The characters .. the old time graphics.. the fun. Worth a second showing perhaps next week.
Meanwhile this weekend the film is taking in $90 mil in its second weekend and closing in on $700 mil globally, well on its way to become a billion dollar movie.
…with people humming the tune of Madonna’s LIKE A PRAYER on the way out.
What a showing!
The Shawn Levy directed, produced and written Deadpool& Wolverine grossed $61.5M on Saturday per Disney for what is definitely a $205M opening weekend..
Global is at $438.3M.
Maybe we really ARE ready for movie theaters again?
MORE INFO on just how big this is..
It’s also the eighth highest opening of all-time, one of nine movies to open north of $200M — six of ’em belonging to Marvel. It’s also the fifth biggest opening ever for a superhero movie. In addition to opening records as we told you for Levy, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, D&W also notched the biggest July opening of all-time ahead of The Lion King ($191.8M)
Move over BARBENHEIMER.. there is a new duo in the summer of 2024 taking the box office by storm. Potty mouthed foul and filthy.. a new family friendly film for the modern age!
Though some critical were dismayed that the movie displayed no political messaging it seems audiences could care less.
People love their summer disasters. .. escapism . Unless of course the weather is bad..?
People love disaster movies in the summer because they provide thrilling escapism and adrenaline-pumping action that complements the season…
Over the years, films like “Independence Day” (1996), with its iconic scenes of alien destruction, and “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004), showcasing cataclysmic climate change, have captivated audiences. More recent hits like “San Andreas” (2015), which highlighted the chaos of a massive earthquake, and “2012” (2009), depicting the end of the world, have continued this trend, proving that summer moviegoers crave the excitement and larger-than-life stakes that disaster movies offer.
News from the box office does not bode well for M Night Shyamalan or horror…
While BAD BOYS 4 is making money *very little of course when you compare to box offices of summers past* the WATCHERS is flailing like someone stuck in quicksand..
Warner Bros.’ thriller “The Watchers” earned a meager $2.9 million across Friday and preview screenings.. this continues a pattern of horror features underperforming at the box office this year.
It will struggle to match its projections for a $10 million bow.
Meanwhile the lazy cat keeps plugging away–and almost as good as THE WATCHERS! Sony’s “The Garfield Movie” earned $2.8 million on Friday, just 27% off from its $3.7 million gross a week ago. The animated feature will purr to $68 million total in North America through Sunday! The feel good sleeper of the summer keeps yawning but yet earning..
Sony and Columbia’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” got off to a solid start at the box office with $21.6 millionfrom 3,885 locations across Friday and preview screenings.. $53 mil is expected for the full weekend..
Let’s first start with this: There was something very calming about watching the horror flick LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL in a theater with a packed audience.. we highly recommend it if you can find a theater showing it.
Now that we have that out of the way…
The Shudder horror film LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL was getting rave reviews and even had a 100% rotten rating on ROTTEN TOMATOES.. While it is maintaining a decent rating with critics and an 83% with audiences, controversy marred the opening weekend.
At issue: The AI art..
Just a few images, really. But those images caused shockwaves of hostility across social media platforms..
When it was revealed this week that the film used some AI imagery, there were immediate calls for a boycott of the movie.
Cameron and Colin Cairnes, the Australian siblings who wrote and directed the film, released a statement to Variety clarifying the scope of AI art in the film. The statement reads:
“In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film. We feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a talented and passionate cast, crew and producing team go above and beyond to help bring this film to life. We can’t wait for everyone to see it for themselves this weekend.”
But consider the fact that the film was made prior to 2024.. released originally in 2023 (long before the current AI debate really hit like it’s doing now) … Can we get some forgiveness?
Beyond the AI controversy, some truly despised this movie–others seemingly loved it. Perusing the former Twitterverse now Xsphere, we are greeted by a number of people who hated the film giving it a o out of 10.. others who loved it with a 9 out of 10. There seems to be little meeting in the middle among fans.
Seriously.. David Dastmalchian rocked this role.
The movie will be in some people’s top 10 of horror.. others will not think to include it.
At the point this is written, IFC’s LATE NIGHT is showing in 1,034 locations .. it posted a $1.1M Friday, 3-day heading to $2.9M. From reports, there are solid numbers in NYC, Toronto, Salt Lake City, Edmonton, Dallas, San Antonio and LA..
MORE.. ″The Marvels was shot during Covid,” he explained.
“There wasn’t as much supervision on the set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] really looking over what’s being done day after day after day.”
Bob, Bob.. the movie may have been shot then but all of the advertising was done after..
All of the big splashy product placements.. billboards. Trailers.
Not one bit sparked interest .. the fanbase seemingly gave up when all of the characters they were fans of were pushed to the side for a new universe that no one seems to understand or desire..
.. if you hear any rumblings online of the Goonies 2 film being created, just be cautious. The article that’s being shared from the ‘let’s talk movies’ page to us is from nine years ago. There is no realistic talk of Goonies 2 film at this point.
