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movies/tv Why did Dark Phoenix bomb at the box office?


TheAnimationFanatic

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Just now, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Have you seen the movie? That's pretty much self evident.

I mean, the movie itself is terrible and I don't think anyone expected this to be a big hit coming off of Apocalypse. But u doubt anyone expected it to fail as brutally as it did.

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For starters the movie was looking worse than X-Men The Last Stand, which is an astonishingly impressive feat. It was also went through several extensive reshoots so close to release. They were openly showing spoilers within the first trailers(like the death of Mystique). And lastly the last movie, Apocalypse was also bad for a lot of people which probably had an affect on this movie as well

 

This thing was never gonna end well

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2 minutes ago, Kiryu-Chan said:

For starters the movie was looking worse than X-Men The Last Stand, which is an astonishingly impressive feat. It was also went through several extensive reshoots so close to release. They were openly showing spoilers within the first trailers(like the death of Mystique). And lastly the last movie, Apocalypse was also bad for a lot of people which probably had an affect on this movie as well

 

This thing was never gonna end well

There's also the fact that the X-Men franchise already had not one, but TWO satisfying conclusions with Days of Future Past and Logan. This felt like a complete afterthought by comparison.  Audiences had said their goodbyes to Wolverine, the character they'd been following for 10 movies and the protagonist of the series, why bother now that he's gone?

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7 minutes ago, TheAnimationFanatic said:

I mean, the movie itself is terrible and I don't think anyone expected this to be a big hit coming off of Apocalypse. But u doubt anyone expected it to fail as brutally as it did.

Tbh, something felt instantly wrong when they announced Dark Phoenix. It felt like the franchise was in the wrong hands and they didn't knew what they were doing. They should have been extra good to win over the audience with a fresh cast. The only good part of this movie was Magneto and Fassbender.

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Just now, Sepul-Coloratura said:

Tbh, something felt instantly wrong when they announced Dark Phoenix. It felt like the franchise was in the wrong hands and they didn't knew what they were doing. They should have been extra good to win over the audience with a fresh cast. The only good part of this movie was Magneto and Fassbender.

Even then, we would have just met this cast and the Dark Phoenix saga is one that worked as well as it did because we had known Jean Grey and her friendship with the other X-Men for 20 years. It had buildup and an emotional payoff that felt earned. 

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To be fair, this movie would have still struggled due to being released during the summer movie season. However, what little wind this movie had in its sails was taken out by the meger.

Once word got out that the Fox series was ending and that the X-Men would be joining the MCU, people saw no point in rushing out to see this when they had something much better waiting down the line.

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Remember how well The Last Stand butchered the Phoenix Saga the first time? The majority of X-men fans do. Fool us once, Fox. Shame on you. The reason why the Phoenix Saga was so beloved was because it told an epic multi-franchise spanning narrative years in the making that tugged at our heart strings. It was Marvel's answer to the death of Superman, but better. Also the keyword is saga. Dark Phoenix needed time to build, but Fox rushed in without even building the original Phoenix or even Jean Grey for that matter. This is what, her second movie and we're already supposed to feel attached to her? Not to mention her relationship with Scott is practically a foot note, and key elements like  the Tal-Shiar, the house of M and the Warlocks have had little, if any, prior development by Fox. 

Finally we live in the age of reviews and spoilers, and they were not kind to this film. Critics hate it. Audiences are mixed. Not the best look. And gathering from what my parents said, both of them fans of the original phoenix saga, the film butchered the premise and the ending. 

Spoiler

Movie Jean is being possessed by the phoenix, brainwashed into going evil. But comic Jean just goes power mad with the phoenix force. All the evil she does is of her own volition. Fox already cut the emotional stakes and audience attachment with that narrative choice. Also Jean is saved in the end, going for a generic feel good ending, instead of the emotional gut punch of the comics. 

 

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1 minute ago, Denim&Venom said:

Remember how well The Last Stand butchered the Phoenix Saga the first time? The majority of X-men fans do. Fool us once, Fox. Shame on you. The reason why the Phoenix Saga was so beloved was because it told an epic multi-franchise spanning narrative years in the making that tugged at our heart strings. It was Marvel's answer to the death of Superman, but better. Also the keyword is saga. Dark Phoenix needed time to build, but Fox rushed in without even building the original Phoenix or even Jean Grey for that matter. This is what, her second movie and we're already supposed to feel attached to her? Not to mention her relationship with Scott is practically a foot note, and key elements like  the Tal-Shiar, the house of M and the Warlocks have had little, if any, prior development by Fox. 

Finally we live in the age of reviews and spoilers, and they were not kind to this film. Critics hate it. Audiences are mixed. Not the best look. And gathering from what my parents said, both of them fans of the original phoenix saga, the film butchered the premise and the ending. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Movie Jean is being possessed by the phoenix, brainwashed into going evil. But comic Jean just goes power mad with the phoenix force. All the evil she does is of her own volition. Fox already cut the emotional stakes and audience attachment with that narrative choice. Also Jean is saved in the end, going for a generic feel good ending, instead of the emotional gut punch of the comics. 

 

It's sad when two big budget blockbusters are outdone by a 90s cartoon. 

Speaking of, it's not just Scott and Jean. EVERYONE in these movies who isn't Magneto, Professor X, or Wolverine is underutilized and underdeveloped.

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17 minutes ago, TheAnimationFanatic said:

Speaking of, it's not just Scott and Jean. EVERYONE in these movies who isn't Magneto, Professor X, or Wolverine is underutilized and underdeveloped.

I still haven't forgiven them for screwing over Psylocke and Gambit

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2 minutes ago, Kiryu-Chan said:

I still haven't forgiven them for screwing over Psylocke and Gambit

Same. Just like I'm still upset about Cyclops being completely underutilized. Like I get it, Wolverine is more popular and marketable than him, so I understand why he's not the main character. But that the leader of the X-Men isn't a significant one is a huge problem. 

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The writing wasn't as memorable as First Class, Days of Future Past, X2, Logan, etc. It had to compete with Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. It was hardly promoted. It served as a conclusion to a franchise that is bound to be replaced by the MCU's X-Men in a few years. It took a comic storyline that took 18 issues to resolve and crammed it into about 2 hours. It lacked the buildup that X2 provided before The Last Stand.

There's just so much wrong with the movie itself and when it happened to be released. The Last Stand changed a lot from the original Dark Phoenix Saga in order to accommodate the "mutant cure" plot and even it was so much better in comparison. It's sad to see how this franchise has lost its way... we can only hope that Kevin Feige will be able to do it justice in the coming years.

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13 minutes ago, Prospekt said:

The writing wasn't as memorable as First Class, Days of Future Past, X2, Logan, etc. It had to compete with Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. It was hardly promoted. It served as a conclusion to a franchise that is bound to be replaced by the MCU's X-Men in a few years. It took a comic storyline that took 18 issues to resolve and crammed it into about 2 hours. It lacked the buildup that X2 provided before The Last Stand.

There's just so much wrong with the movie itself and when it happened to be released. The Last Stand changed a lot from the original Dark Phoenix Saga in order to accommodate the "mutant cure" plot and even it was so much better in comparison. It's sad to see how this franchise has lost its way... we can only hope that Kevin Feige will be able to do it justice in the coming years.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to seeing Jean Grey be a straight up good guy for a while and being used in adaptations of other iconic storylines. 

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51 minutes ago, TheAnimationFanatic said:

To be honest, I'm looking forward to seeing Jean Grey be a straight up good guy for a while and being used in adaptations of other iconic storylines

I don't really want to see Marvel Studios attempt the Dark Phoenix saga. It's a defining arc for Jean Grey, but there's so much more they can do with her. I'm content with the comic arc, the version in the 90s X-Men animated series, and the traces of it in The Last Stand.

If anything, I think they're more likely to adapt House of M, which has some similarities but focuses on a character who has already been in the MCU for a few years.

Edited by Prospekt
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19 minutes ago, Prospekt said:

I don't really want to see Marvel Studios attempt the Dark Phoenix saga. It's a defining arc for Jean Grey, but there's so much more they can do with her. I'm content with the comic arc, the version in the 90s X-Men animated series, and the traces of it in The Last Stand.

If anything, I think they're more likely to adapt House of M, which has some similarities but focuses on a character who has already been in the MCU for a few years.

I think they'll likely take more inspiration from House of X/Powers of X and whatever Hickman is doing on his X-Men run.

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21 minutes ago, TheAnimationFanatic said:

I imagine they'll do this The New Mutants.

Assuming New Mutants isn't one of the Fox films they're cancelling

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New reporting on how a string on flops (Including Dark Phoenix) is hurting Fox's stock. https://variety.com/2019/film/features/fox-disney-earnings-dark-phoenix-stuber-racing-in-the-rain-1203300260/

This bit is also damning for The New Mutants:

Quote

"[Disney] is unimpressed with “New Mutants,” an “X-Men” spinoff with a haunted-house vibe, and believes it has limited box office potential."

 

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