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Years after its release, Thor: Ragnarok is still one of the highest-rated MCU films ever, holding its own against movies like Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home, both of which were the culmination of decades of story building. It's especially impressive, given that the second Thor film is one of the most-hated films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Clearly, just being a Thor sequel doesn't guarantee success or failure.

The movie begins with the premise that Thor must stop Ragnarök from destroying Asgard, but it quickly turns into a more traditional Marvel conflict when Hela, the Goddess of Death, is released and takes over the realm. Thor and Loki end up trapped on Sakaar for a time before returning to Asgard to save its people and defeat Hela.

Thor: Ragnarok was set in a critical place for the MCU, as it took place just before Avengers: Infinity War. This...

The story of the movies in the 2010s is basically the story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man laid the foundation in 2008, but The Avengers turned the franchise into a proper phenomenon in 2012. From there, Disney rode the wave all the way to the bank. Things climaxed in 2019, with three Marvel movies — Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home — all making over a billion dollars.

That was around the time the streaming wars were really getting underway, so Disney and Marvel Studios set their sights on a new realm to conquer: television. Things got off to a solid start with WandaVision, a surprisingly esoteric show about Wanda Maximoff that took inspiration from, of all things, sitcoms through the ages. Back in 2021, people were enraptured by this show; the buzz was very real.

And then things seemed to taper off. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier came next,...

The projections game for November’s U.S./Canada box office is easier than next Tuesday’s election. But after October results far off earlier predictions, some caution is advisable

This century before Covid, November always was a $1 billion or better grossing month, including some adjusted for current ticket prices. Last year’s November was an anemic $552 million.

The lineup this year includes three anticipated blockbusters that could play through Christmas — “Wicked” (Universal) and “Gladiator 2” (Paramount) opening November 22, and “Moana 2” (Disney) on November 27. Their release dates will mean half or more of their grosses could come later.

The just-ending October was expected to be the third consecutive month with improvements over 2023 results. Instead, October 2024 will fall close to 20 percent below last year’s.

That’s over $100 million less. The reason? Simple. Mostly because “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.) is ending up around $60 million. That’s below what...

Imax continues to leverage Hollywood’s ongoing box office recovery as the film technologies company unveiled its third-quarter financial results on Wednesday.

With cinema-going rebounding post-Hollywood strikes, Imax posted revenue of $91.5 million for the latest financial quarter, down 12 percent from revenue of $103.9 million during the year-ago period when Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer played on its screens.

Third quarter profits at $13.9 million was up 16 percent on profits of $12 million in the third quarter last year. The adjusted net profit per share in Q3 came to 35 cents, which matched a 35 cents adjusted earnings per-share in the same year-ago period.

Content Solutions revenues — or business from agreements with the major studios and filmmakers — at $30 million was down 32 percent year-over-year. With Deadpool & Wolverine and Alien: Romulus on its screens during the latest quarter, Imax saw its global box office haul come to $239 million.

That’s down from a year-earlier $347 million global box office...

Comic book movies are facing an interesting moment. Before the pandemic hit in 2020, nothing seemed to guarantee a box office hit more than putting a Marvel logo in front of a movie. Even DC had $1 billion hits with "Aqauaman" and "Joker" in and amongst the chaos of trying to figure out the DC Extended Universe. Sony Pictures also found a potential goldmine within the larger "Spider-Man" franchise with the release of 2018's "Venom." That movie made a shocking $856 million worldwide and paved the way for further spin-offs centered on Spidey side characters. The whole experiment was kind of a disaster, but among the rubble of that disaster is a potential lesson for those in charge of the future of superhero cinema.

James Gunn is now the co-head of DC Studios alongside producer Peter Safran. Gunn is best known as the director of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, as well as 2021's "The Suicide Squad.

Sony’s attempt to break into the competitive live-service market with Concord, a sci-fi shooter developed by Firewalk Studios, ended as abruptly as it began. Just over a month after its release, Sony pulled the game from shelves and recently announced a shutdown of Firewalk Studios altogether.

The game has incredibly low player numbers. | Image Credit: Firewalk Studios

Firewalk Stuido’s reported $200 million budget isn’t far off from some major Hollywood films. The level to which the game flopped reminds us of a similar high-profile flop in Hollywood. The 2023 Marvel Cinematic Universe entry The Marvels became one of the biggest failures for the studio.

Concord‘s Flop Is Up There With The Biggest In Entertainment

Sony’s journey with Concord began with high hopes. Firewalk Studios, the development team, was founded in 2018 by ex-Bungie developers under the studio startup Probably Monsters. They aimed to create a multiplayer experience that...

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It's no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has hit what might be described as a rough patch in recent years. The MCU is still arguably the biggest thing going at the box office these days, with "Deadpool & Wolverine" making more than $1.3 billion this year. That said, films like "Black Widow," "Eternals," and especially "The Marvels" have struggled to break through with audiences in a meaningful way. The same could be said for last year's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," which shot out of the gate hot but then came crashing down to finish its global run with $476 million worldwide. Against a $200 million budget, it was considered a big disappointment, if not an outright flop. Yet, it's a flop that still turned a profit, albeit a very tiny one.

In a recent report from Forbes, it's revealed that director...

Post Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios seemed to have faltered a little bit when it came to expanding the universe that it had set. With films like Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, and Thor: Love and Thunder, there has been a serious drop in quality in the products that Marvel has been putting out post-Phase 3.

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers in Marvel Studios’ The Marvels. Photo by Laura Radford. © 2023 Marvel.

The Marvels was the first proper flop that the Marvel Cinematic Universe had at the box office, given that even Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania managed to make a little bit of profit against its humongous budget of $388 million.

Despite crashing and burning at the Box Office, Disney’s filings indicate Ant-Man 3 made a profit of ~$88,000 A still from Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania || Credit: Marvel Studios

As reported by Forbes, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania...

Let’s be real: Brie Larson became the center of negative attention ever since she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Playing the role of Captain Marvel, the hate she received was relentless. Whether it was her acting or her off-screen moments and opinions, Brie Larson was targeted left and right on social media, and to this day, she still faces the wrath online.

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel in The Marvels (2023)| Credits: Marvel Studios

Ever since her first screen appearance in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Brie Larson has been in a ton of projects whether it is TV, films, or theatre. Therefore, calling her a “bad actor” doesn’t really make sense if you think about it. Why else would she be signing project after project and why else would she have over a hundred awards to her name? Think about it.

The Unfair Treatment of Brie Larson...

Sony Pictures billed “Venom: The Last Dance” as the final chapter in Tom Hardy’s alien-symbiote-buddy-comedy franchise. But with its $51 million domestic opening weekend — 44% and 55% lower than the previous two installments — the movie also signifies the continued twilight of superhero cinema as the dominant force at the box office.

Superhero movies used to be an indispensable revenue driver for the film industry. In 2018 and 2019, the average global gross for superhero fare was more than $1 billion. This year, it’s half that, even with the record-breaking success of “Deadpool & Wolverine.” In fact, the Ryan Reynolds-Hugh Jackman vehicle is the only comic book movie that could qualify as a hit since “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” debuted in June 2023. Since then, the genre has suffered an extraordinary box office drought. Film after film, from “The Flash” to “The Marvels” to “Madame Web,” opened to, at best, a shrug — and, at worst,...

Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Oct 26-28) Total gross to date Week 1. Venom: The Last Dance(Sony) £4.3m £4.3m 1 2. The Wild Robot(Universal) £1.9m £6.4m 2 3. Smile 2(Paramount) £1m £4m 2 4. Transformers One(Paramount) £377,581 £3.4m 3 5. The Apprentice(Studiocanal) £372,604 £1.6m 2

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.30

Sony’s Venom: The Last Dance started with a £4.3m weekend – enough to top the UK-Ireland box office, although down on the starts of the first two films in the franchise.

The Last Dance played in 622 sites, taking a £6,915 location average. This is down on the £5.6m start of 2018’s Venom, from 556 sites at a £10,160 average; and...

Following Billy Maximoff’s MCU debut, ‘Agatha All Along’ showrunner Jac Schaeffer addressed what we can expect from the series finale and whether there’s a chance Young Avengers are set in any way.

Having spent some time with the MCU, Schaeffer mentioned she doesn’t have a specific plan for handling the Young Avengers. However, she emphasized that she’s a big fan of the team, saying:

I don’t have anything for that, but I love those characters, and really, I love the actors. I just think if Young Avengers were to happen like, man, that is a murderer’s row. It would be great.

Source: ScreenRant

Schaeffer may not have a current plan for the Young Avengers, but that doesn’t mean she can’t develop one later.

From her comments, it appears she would be open to exploring the Young Avengers characters if given the opportunity...

Following Billy Maximoff’s MCU debut, ‘Agatha All Along’ showrunner Jac Schaeffer addressed what we can expect from the series finale and whether there’s a chance Young Avengers are set in any way.

Having spent some time with the MCU, Schaeffer mentioned she doesn’t have a specific plan for handling the Young Avengers. However, she emphasized that she’s a big fan of the team, saying:

I don’t have anything for that, but I love those characters, and really, I love the actors. I just think if Young Avengers were to happen like, man, that is a murderer’s row. It would be great.

Source: ScreenRant

Schaeffer might not have a plan for Young Avengers right now, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t develop one later. From her comments, it seems likely she’d be open to working on the Young Avengers characters if she...

Hawkeye Season 2: Everything We Know About the Release Date, Returning Cast, & the New Adventures! ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Marvel fans, hold onto your quivers! Hawkeye Season 2 is reportedly in early development, hinting at a comeback for Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop. The 2021 miniseries may have been a one-time deal—but it seems Marvel has fresh plans for this iconic archer duo.

Marvel’s whisper network first caught wind of this Hawkeye news through The Cosmic Circus’ Alex Perez, who leaked that Marvel’s creative team has fresh ideas for where Clint and Kate could be headed. It’s still in the early days, with no official Marvel confirmation.

And it’s worth noting that Marvel has started stacking up more projects than ever without guaranteeing each one gets produced. Even so, the possibility of a second season has fans buzzing about what could be...

The universe of Marvel cinematic entertainment allows fans to imagine a world where science, technology, close encounters of the third kind, xenology, and theology can all co-exist in unison. But when it comes to the real world, black holes might not be too believable a thing for the realm of science and reason. Or at least, the ex-Iron Man star Terrence Howard happens to think so.

Terrence Howard as Col James “Rhodey” Rhodes [Credit: Marvel Studios]

With a messy history with the Marvel bosses and a complex relationship with the Marvel legend Robert Downey Jr., Howard exited his post as Colonel Rhodes aka War Machine in the MCU in disgrace. Behind-the-scenes politics merged with some pride on his part accounted for the sudden overnight recast.

In the aftermath, Terrence Howard’s online presence has been somewhat controversial and divisive and his version of events, be it his exit from Marvel...

Six years ago, Sony found a new Marvel box office hit with “Venom,” starring Tom Hardy as the Spider-Man nemesis-turned-dark-antihero who won over audiences with a level of camp that caught everyone off guard.

Now, after a successful 2021 sequel, theaters are getting the trilogy capper “Venom: The Last Dance,” which will try to follow in the steps of its predecessors and win over fans despite leaving critics unimpressed with a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score. And it’s showing once again how the franchise is the most successful IP in Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff universe, which has otherwise struggled theatrically.

At a time when many tentpole films, including the recent flop “Joker: Folie a Deux,” have seen their budgets inch higher and higher, Sony and Columbia Pictures have kept “Venom 3” to a relatively low $120 million before marketing costs. That’s a good thing, as the film is currently projected for an opening weekend of $65 million,...

The eagerly awaited ‘Blade’ reboot has encountered major challenges well before the recent SAG-AFTRA strikes. This MCU film, centered on the legendary vampire hunter Eric Brooks, aims to reboot the beloved ‘Blade’ trilogy that played a crucial role in shaping the modern MCU.

Since Mahershala Ali initially pitched the concept and was officially cast as Blade in 2018, the project has faced ongoing script issues and has undergone numerous changes in writers and directors during its development.

Some reports suggest that Mahershala Ali is at the center of the problems with the ‘Blade’ reboot, while others point to issues with the story and scripting. A few weeks ago, we reported that the studio would soon make a decision about the project’s future, along with the similarly troubled ‘Armor Wars’ film.

That “soon” has arrived, but it hasn’t brought any good news for the beleaguered reboot. According to THR,...

We finally saw Blade appear in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film — it just wasn’t the Blade played by Mahershala Ali. The first appearance of Blade in the MCU came in “Deadpool & Wolverine” with Wesley Snipes reprising his iconic role.

And now Ali’s “Blade” has been delayed yet again, pulled from Disney’s 2025 release slate entirely. What a disaster.

Marvel chief Kevin Feige first announced a “Blade” reboot back in 2019 with Ali attached to star, and the character was even teased in the post-credits of 2021’s “Eternals,” a would-be franchise that now seems forgotten.

“Blade” has been through many starts and stops, with several writers and directors filtering through and with delays because of the writers strike and more. Through it all, the franchise’s original stars Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff haven’t refrained from talking about it.

“It’s not the actor’s fault,” Snipes said of Ali.

The MCU has faced a bit of a crisis in recent years, with several major projects underperforming at the box office and Disney+ series receiving generally lukewarm responses. In response, Bob Iger announced a plan to reduce the creative output, limiting the amount of content to be released over the next few years.

Much of the backlash stems from a perceived decline in quality during Phase 4 and Phase 5, along with accusations that the MCU is focusing more on diversity, equity, and inclusion (Dei) than on storytelling. Critics argue that the franchise is prioritizing ideologies over coherent narratives and logical character progression.

Some MCU projects have been heavily review-bombed, with actors and showrunners allegedly facing harassment, most notably in the cases of She-Hulk and The Marvels. These projects, widely criticized as unnecessary, were released despite obvious signs they might flop—partly due to their female leads (a misguided criticism) but also...

MCU is in the last few years in a bit of a crisis. Some major projects have flopped at the box office, and the Disney+ series have generally unsatisfactory results. This is why Bob Iger announced somewhat decreased creative output limiting the amount of content that’s going to get released in the next few years.

The backlash is primarily due to the perceived lack of quality with Phase 4 and Phase 5 projects and the perceived wokeness of the shows and movies. Fans have noticed that MCU has started prioritizing Dei according to some claims, ignoring the actual stories and logical progress in favor of shoehorning as many ideologies as possible in their products.

Projects have been review-bombed, and actors and showrunners have been allegedly harassed, the most notable examples of this being ‘She-Hulk’ and ‘The Marvels.’ Projects that no one asked for but were still released even though it was...

As Marvel moves deeper into Phase 4 and toward Phase 5 with some shifts away from Kang the Conqueror’s storyline, a group of actors within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have made a promising case for eventual adaptations of content from the Young Avengers comic storylines.

Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) appeared as the character who takes on the Hawkeye mantle in the limited series that arrived near Christmas in 2021. Next came Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Cassie Lang was recast as Kathryn Newton for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). The latest big name in the group to be revealed is Joe Locke’s Billy Maximoff, aka Wiccan, who has been hiding in plain sight in Agatha All Along.

Iman Vellani took up the character Ms. Marvel in first the limited series and later in The Marvels (2023). There is a Captain Marvel in the comic...

Tom Holland might want to double-check his Marvel knowledge before making bold claims! The Spider-Man star praised the MCU, calling it the only studio that works in unison with fan groups. But fans are scratching their heads, especially after the lukewarm reception The Marvels faced. Did he not watch it?

Tom Holland stars as Spider-Man in Spider-man: Homecoming. | Credits: Columbia Pictures’

The MCU’s been hit with mixed reviews lately, and while Spidey remains a fan favorite, not all Marvel projects are being celebrated. Holland’s comment feels a bit out of touch with current fan reactions, raising the question: is he blissfully unaware, or just super loyal to the brand? Either way, it’s got the internet talking, and not all the chatter is positive!

Tom Holland Declares MCU, The Only Studio in Tune with Fans in Candid Interview Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man: No Way Home...

Poor Things composer Jerskin Fendrix was the big winner at the 2024 World Soundtrack Awards (Wsa), taking home both the film composer of the year and discovery of the year prizes.

The World Soundtrack Awards took place tonight (October 16) at the closing night of Film Fest Gent.

Poor Things was Fendrix’s first-ever film score and he went on to collaborate with Yorgos Lanthimos again on Kinds Of Kindness - both scores of which earned him the nomination.

In film composer of the year, Fendrix was up against Hans Zimmer (Dune: Part Two and The Creator); Ludwig Göransson (Oppenheimer); Anthony Willis...

Joker: Folie à Deux looks poised to be become one of the biggest box office flops in history, according to projections from industry insiders.

A new report in Variety estimates Todd Phillips’ sequel could lose Warner Bros. up to $200 million during its theatrical run. Thus far, the Joaquin Phoenix-starring film has grossed $51.5 million domestically and $165 million globally during its first two weeks in theaters. Its total gross is projected to be $65 million domestically and $210 million to $215 million globally.

According to the report, Folie à Deux cost $200 million to produce, with an additional $100 million going to marketing and distribution. With ticket sales split between studios and theater owners, it would thus need to gross $450 million to break even during its theatrical run (though Warner Bros. sources contend the number is $375 million).

Per insider estimates and three rival executives familiar with similar films, Joker 2 could lose between $125 million and $200 million...

Marvel has had questionable returns on its films and shows over the last couple of years. Budgets have ballooned out of control, while the box office has constricted like the sphincters of the executives when they get the final bills. While “Deadpool & Wolverine” outperformed expectations at the box office, other films like “The Marvels,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania,” and “The Eternals” have massively underperformed.

In the case of “Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania,” the CGI was mocked in some parts of the film.

The overwhelming demand on the VFX workers led to unionization, even at Marvel.

Now, Marvel is changing its approach, focusing on less CGI, more practical effects, and slimmer budgets.

The news comes from Brad Winderbaum, the head of streaming, television, and animation at Marvel. Budget reductions have already begun with “Agatha All Along” and will continue into the upcoming “Daredevil Born Again” show.

“I can...

The highly anticipated sequel to the Oscar-winning 2019 film Joker stumbled at the box office in its second weekend of release. Joker: Folie à Deux, which brought back Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime and added Lady Gaga in a supporting role, saw ticket sales plunge 81% from its first to second weekend.

After opening to $38 million domestically, below most estimates that projected $50-70 million, the box office receipts for Folie à Deux fell off sharply. In its second weekend the film made only $7 million from 4,102 theaters across North America. This 81% decline from the first to second weekend is one of the steepest drops ever recorded. It surpasses the previous record held by another comic book movie, The Marvels, which declined 78% in its second weekend last year.

In contrast, the original Joker was a box office phenomenon. It opened to nearly $100 million domestically and $250 million globally just in its first weekend.

There’s only room for one killer clown at the top of box office charts.

“Terrifier 3” slashed its way to No. 1 in North America, collecting a stellar $18.3 million from 2,514 theaters in its opening weekend. It’s a huge start for the ultra-gory, independently made, low-budget slasher film about a demonic clown who brutalizes a small town.

Meanwhile “Joker: Folie á Deux,” which topped the box office last weekend, collapsed in third place with $7.055 million from 4,102 theaters. It could end up in fourth place, behind holdover “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” once the final numbers are tallied on Monday. The off-beat comic book musical, starring Joaquin Phoenix as a reclusive stand-up comedian and part-time clown, suffered a tragic 82% decline in ticket sales from its already disastrous $37.6 million debut. It ranks as one of the biggest-second weekend drops for the superhero genre, plunging more severely than last year’s misfires of “The Marvels” (78.1%), “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania...

International Lesbian Day, celebrated annually on October 8th, is a day dedicated to recognizing and honoring lesbians, and their contributions to society, culture, and the LGBTQ+ community. It provides a platform to promote visibility, acknowledge the unique challenges lesbians face, and celebrate their identity and love.

In recent years, the MCU has gradually increased the representation of diverse demographics in its projects, so it’s no surprise that Marvel Studios chose to mark the day with a fitting tribute post.

#AgathaAllAlong is now streaming on @disneyplus. pic.twitter.com/maSTK3ysJR

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) October 8, 2024

The studio’s official X profile shared a photo of Agatha and Rio Plaza during their emotional moment, accompanied by green and purple hearts symbolizing their elemental alignments—Rio as the Green (Earth) Witch and Agatha as the Spirit Witch.

While lesbian relationships have been subtly hinted at in the MCU, most recently between Valkyrie...

In an absolute wild twist of fate at the box office, it’s looking increasingly likely that Terrifier 3, the low-budget slasher flick from Damien Leone, might actually unseat Warner Bros’s $200 million Joker: Folie a Deux at the box office this weekend. A few months ago, this would have been unthinkable, but given how toxic word of mouth has been for Joker, it looks like the film will have a massive drop-off at the box office this weekend after opening to a Much lower than expected $37 million. Morbius and The Marvels, which both had similarly bad openings, dropped off 74% and 78% at the box office in their second weekends, and neither had Joker’s D CinemaScore rating to contend with. I’m expecting Joker 2 to fall about 70%, which would give it an $11 million weekend.

Terrifier 3, from the indie studio Cineverse, should be able to topple Joker 2. It...

Sebastian Stan is tired of Marvel movie backlash. The actor, who has played Bucky Barnes in the MCU since 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” once again lamented over Marvel being a punching bag in Hollywood, this time in an interview with GQ UK magazine.

“I’ve never been part of a company that puts so much heart and thought into anything,” Stan told the publication. “If Marvel was gone, it’d be such a big hole to try and fill up. Don’t just go out there and shit on something without offering something better.”

Marvel fans largely rejected the studio’s 2023 offerings as critical duds like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels” flopped at the box office. The latter title became the studio’s lowest-grossing movie in history. Marvel has also been called out over the years by top film directors such as Martin Scorsese for...

It might be kind to let the disaster of “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.) rest in peace, but the reality is the film is in only its fifth day of release. And as weekend two grows closer, it’s possible that it could fall as low as #3 and set an all-time record for the biggest second-weekend drop for a major release.

After Thursday previews came in at just over half of what “Joker” saw in 2019, the bottom fell out. The studio’s own weekend estimate slipped to $40 million, which proved unduly optimistic; the actual was $37.8 million (That’s a six percent miss; it’s rare for an estimate to be more than three percent off.) Monday grossed $1,825,000 — less than five percent of the opening-weekend total when eight percent would be the norm.

The worst-case scenario would be both its rank this upcoming weekend, and a historically bad second weekend drop.

Comic books and films are usually rich and magnificent affairs, focusing on the big-budget action sequence that ends up on the screen. However, there has been a troubling trend in the past few years, such that sections of the fandom have been blaming the failure of films on political messaging that they disagree with rather than the contents of the film.

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers in Marvel Studios’ The Marvels. Photo by Laura Radford. © 2023 Marvel.

The Marvels was one such film that ended up being a bomb at the box office, largely blamed on the fact that the film tried to storm theaters with three female leaders, two of which were women of color. Brie Larson has always been a target for certain sections of the fandom, the same ones that had it out for Rey Skywalker and Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel.

For all their bashing of bad films,...

Captain America: Brave New World is shaping up to be one of the most thrilling entries in the MCU. This film marks Sam Wilson’s debut as Captain America in a standalone role and will feature a confrontation with Ross’ Red Hulk, potentially introducing Amadeus Cho as well.

Many fans have observed that the movie appears to lean more towards a Hulk-centric story than a traditional Captain America narrative, and I can’t help but agree. If the reports are accurate, Brave New World is set to launch the ‘World War Hulks’ storyline, which makes this direction understandable.

The movie’s plot has reportedly leaked online, but I won’t spoil it for you here. Let’s just say that Sam will need all the help he can get, and the film will set a solid groundwork for the Avengers’ resurrection.

Every team needs a leader, and if...

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ is one of the most exciting MCU movies. The movie will be Sam Wilson’s first standalone movie as Captain America, and it’s also going to pit him against Ross’ Red Hulk, with the possible appearance of Amadeus Cho.

Fans already noted that the movie seems more like the Hulk movie than the Captain America movie, and I have to agree. If the reports are to be believed ‘Brave New World’ is going to kickstart the ‘World War Hulks’ storyline, so in that context it makes sense.

The plot of the movie has allegedly already leaked online, but I’m not going to spoil it for you here. Let’s just say that Sam will need all the help he can get, and the movie will lay a pretty solid foundation for the resurrection of the Avengers.

Every team needs a leader however and...

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A tale of two directors: Director A helmed a comic book movie for a massive studio earning a "B" grade CinemaScore, a 62% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, and an 82% from audiences. Director B also directed a comic book movie for a massive studio, became the first ever to earn a "D" grade CinemaScore, nabbed a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and a 31% from audiences. The former brought in $46 million during its opening weekend while the latter, only $37.8 million. Completely ignoring any creative prowess, artistic vision, or filmmaking craft — the numbers are heartily in favor of Director A. So if the hard data doesn't lie ... then why is one of the biggest Hollywood trades gleefully treating Director B, Todd Phillips of "Joker: Folie à Deux," like some poor underdog who will get 'em next time, while Director A, Nia DaCosta of "The Marvels,...

To say that the early results for "Joker: Folie a Deux" weren't exactly what everyone at Warner Bros. had in mind would be a polite understatement. The high-profile sequel from director Todd Phillips has been met with what might be best described as disdain from many critics and audiences thus far. Its prospects are not great, particularly in light of the sequel's terrible opening weekend at the box office. Some of the only good news here in the early going is that DC Studios won't have to wear this as a stain on its reputation.

Those who saw "Joker 2" in theaters over the weekend might have noticed that the new DC Studios logo didn't appear in the film's credits, either before or after the film itself. The division was launched in 2022, with "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran jointly running the operation. The idea...

We didn't think things could get any worse for Joker: Folie à Deux but following Warner Bros. $40 million opening weekend estimates and analysts predicting $39 million, the sequel actually debuted in North America with $37.8 million.

This places the Joker sequel significantly below other comic book movie flops, including Morbius ($39 million), The Marvels ($46.1 million), and The Flash ($55 million).

Based on how those performed, chances are Joker: Folie à Deux will end its domestic run with around $70 million. In 2019, Joker's opening weekend was a massive $96 million. If Todd Phillips had box office bonuses written into his contract for hitting certain benchmarks after the first movie grossed over $1 billion, he's got nothing to smile about today.

Here's how Joker: Folie à Deux's opening weekend went:

Mon Update: #JokerFolieADeux - opening wknd #boxoffice breakdown:

$7M | pre-shows

$20.3M | Fri (incl pre-shows)

$11.3M | Sat (-44%)

$6.2M | Sun (-45%)

$37.8M | Wknd

D CinemaScore

33% Rt critics score...

There have been plenty of comic book films that have left fans of DC and Marvel unimpressed, but you’d be hard pressed to find one that has faced such mass repudiation as “Joker: Folie à Deux” did this weekend.

When it first arrived on pre-release tracking, there were projections for a $70 million opening weekend. By this week, that fell to $50 million. While not a death sentence for a film with a $190 million budget, such a result would have required strong audience buzz for it to be theatrically successful against such a high production cost.

Instead, “Joker: Folie à Deux” received poor audience scores across the board, including the first ever D grade for a comic book film on CinemaScore. The poor word-of-mouth had an immediate and severe effect on the film’s ticket sales, and as of writing on Sunday, the film is now estimated for a $40 million domestic opening,...

Despite being a sequel to a movie that made a billion dollars worldwide, Joker: Folie à Deux has posted a truly disastrous opening. According to Deadline, the film didn’t even crack $40 million this weekend, with them estimating a horrible $39 million finish. That’s over $20 million less than we expected in our box office predictions, which is crazy as just a few months ago, no one would have thought it conceivable that the film would open to anything less than $90 or so million. The $39 million opening is even worse than the $55 million opening posted by The Flash, and The Marvels, which opened with $46 million. Both openings were considered disastrous, and Joker: Folie à Deux looks like it might not even cross $100 million domestically.

So what happened? It seems fans didn’t go for Todd Phillips’s rather ambitious idea to make this a musical, with it peppered with fantasy musical...

The highly anticipated sequel to the hit film “Joker” struggled at the box office during its first weekend in theaters. “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which reunites Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, brought in around $20 million on its opening day. This placed the film on track to earn about $50 million during its first weekend, significantly below Warner Bros.’ predictions of $50-65 million.

The lackluster debut diverges sharply from the strong opening of the first “Joker” film. Released in 2019 with a modest $65 million budget, the original “Joker” made $96.2 million during its opening weekend and went on to earn over $1 billion globally. In contrast, analysts now estimate “Folie à Deux” may make less than half of the first film’s opening weekend gross. Some expect it could earn as little as $40 million.

Multiple factors seem to be hurting the sequel’s box office performance. At $200 million, “Folie à Deux” carries a much higher budget than its predecessor.

Despite previously setting the mark with his iconic portrayal of the renowned antihero of DC comics and becoming the second Joker actor to win an Oscar, Joaquin Phoenix now seems to be walking down the road to embarrassment for his latest iteration, Joker: Folie à Deux. Opening with a meager $7M in domestic previews, Phoenix’s 2024 movie is tracking worse than The Flash and MCU’s The Marvels.

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux | image: Warner Bros.

Prior to the release of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s Joker: Folie à Deux, people had been dreading this very outcome, judging by the trailer and performance. However, although fans tried to look on the positive side and maintain the hype, the silver lining now seems to be fading with the film’s underwhelming opening day collection.

Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker Just Hit Rock Bottom with Opening Previews...

Recreating unexpected successes of films like Joker can be defined as a high-stakes gamble, especially when it comes to the box office numbers. Unfortunately, its highly anticipated sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, appears to be struggling with a similar challenge.

Released in 2019 and starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a party clown, primarily based on the DC villain Joker, the film became a massive hit. While the film was initially conceived as a standalone project, its remarkable success prompted the creators to further explore Arthur Fleck’s narrative, introducing his love interest, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), while he is incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.

A still from Joker: Folie à Deux | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

Despite being one of the highly anticipated films of the year, the sequel could potentially struggle to meet audience expectations. With the initial reception for the film certainly indicates that the sequel may likely not...

Agatha All Along has been a decent success for Marvel so far (which is at least partially due to the fact that it's the least expensive Disney+ series yet), and it seems the studio is pleased enough with the show's viewership that plans are in place for a spin-off.

Agatha - itself a spin-off of WandaVision - introduced a mysterious "Teen" (Joe Locke) who is believed to be Wanda Maximoff's (Elizabeth Olsen) son Billy Kaplan/Wiccan, and according to Daniel Richtman, this new series will focus on the search for the Scarlet Witch's other son, Tommy Maximoff, aka Speed.

If accurate, this would be a somewhat surprising development. There is already a Vision series in the works, and a recent rumor claimed that Euphoria breakout Javon Walton is in talks to play a second "Teen," who will presumably turn out to be Tommy. Do we really need another series focusing on these characters?...

On Aug. 28, Amandla Stenberg, the lead of the “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte,” posted an eight-and-a-half-minute video to her Instagram Stories about Lucasfilm’s abrupt decision not to pick up the show for a second season just a month after the Season 1 finale streamed on Disney+.

“It’s not a huge shock for me,” Stenberg said. Since the series was announced in 2020, she continued, “we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language towards us.” (Stenberg was unavailable to comment for this story.)

In other words, “The Acolyte” was the latest high-profile target of “toxic fandom,” the catchall term for when fan criticism curdles from good-faith dissatisfaction into a relentlessly negative, often bigoted online campaign against either the project or its stars or creative leaders. In a franchise economy increasingly dependent upon established audience devotion to drive the bottom line, the...

The Marvels ended with a massive mid-credits scene surprise when X-Men: The Last Stand star Kelsey Grammer reprised his role as Henry "Hank" McCoy for the hero's MCU debut.

With Photon trapped in a parallel universe that the X-Men call home (presumably Earth-100005 following the events of Deadpool & Wolverine), the stage has been set for those characters to eventually make their way to Earth-616, a world which currently has only a handful of mutants.

Today, we have even more concept art of Grammer's new-look Beast - from the new Marvel Studios: The Art of Ryan Meinerding book - and it's clear this version was heavily inspired by X-Men: The Animated Series and the character's classic comic book appearance.

Bryan Singer, Brett Ratner, Matthew Vaughn, and Simon Kinberg all failed to nail Hank's live-action appearance, and Marvel Studios' decision to head down the CG route clearly paid off.

It's unclear...

Marvel Studios and Disney Plus have been going hand-in-hand with each other since 2021. The Hollywood juggernaut turned its attention to the small screen after the conclusion of its Infinity Saga, determined to build out the world even further through the use of streaming television. It accomplished that with the launch of WandaVision, which has led to the arrival of ten more Disney Plus shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (including that original show's spinoff Agatha All Along).

There is no doubt about it, the MCU is a much bigger, more expansive place with the original series adding to the lore. Not all have achieved the same levels of success, but they have all reached different corners of the TV fandom that maybe wouldn't have jumped on-board the MCU ship otherwise. From WandaVision's sitcom episodes to the comedy of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, there has been something there for everyone.

In the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, much was said about Marvel Studios signing actors to six or nine-picture deals. Many of those contracts concluded with Avengers: Endgame but, in Samuel L. Jackson's case, it didn't take quite as long.

In a career retrospective with GQ, the iconic actor reflected on joining the MCU with 2008's Iron Man and the fact Nick Fury quickly started showing up, well, pretty much everywhere.

"I knew I had a nine-picture deal," Jackson started. "[Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] said that: 'We’re going to offer you a nine-picture deal.' How long do you have to stay alive to make nine movies? It’s not the quickest process in the world."

"I didn’t know they were going to make nine movies in like two and a half years," he admitted. "That’s kind of crazy! Oh shit, I’m using up my contracts.

Samuel L. Jackson gave audiences their first hint that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was going to be more significant than they imagined. The actor first appeared as Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man, telling Tony Stark that he’d become part of a bigger universe. This was the first of Jackson’s nine-picture deal with Marvel Studios. The actor told GQ that not only was he shocked by the deal, but that he stayed alive long enough to see them all get made.

“I knew I had a nine-picture deal,” Jackson said. “[Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] said that: ‘We’re going to offer you a nine-picture deal.’ How long do you have to stay alive to make nine movies? It’s not the quickest process in the world. I didn’t know they were going to make nine movies in like two and a half years. That’s kind of crazy!

Samuel L. Jackson participated in a career retrospective interview for GQ magazine and admitted that he was shocked by the speed that Marvel raced through his initial nine-picture deal. Jackson agreed to Marvel’s initial offer to play Nick Fury in nine movies, starting with a cameo appearance at the end of 2008’s “Iron Man.” He has since starred in a dozen Marvel movies, including multiple “Avengers” movies and standalone tentpoles like “Iron Man 2” and “The Marvels.”

“I knew I had a nine-picture deal,” Jackson said. “[Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] said that: ‘We’re going to offer you a nine-picture deal.’ How long do you have to stay alive to make nine movies? It’s not the quickest process in the world. I didn’t know they were going to make nine movies in like two and a half years. That’s kind of crazy! Oh shit, I’m using up my contracts.

The Marvels became one of Marvel Studios' biggest box office flops when it opened last year. What should have been an epic event movie felt like an extended episode of a Disney+ TV series and despite filmmaker Nia DaCosta's best efforts, the sequel struggled to soar.

The costume designs split opinions but one piece of concept art from The Marvels: Art of The Movie has revealed a Captain Marvel suit based on the fan-favourite comic book version by Jen Bartel.

The response online to this has been overwhelmingly positive, with many questioning why this didn't make it into the movie. Also below are other cosmic designs inspired by the source material, and it's clear the Captain Marvel sequel wasn't lacking ambition...during pre-production, at least.

Carol Danvers actor Brie Larson was asked earlier this year about possibly reuniting with her The Marvels co-stars Iman Vellani (Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel...