Tag: Fantastic Four

Box Office Pro Predicts Dark Phoenix To Gross Only $113 Million In Its First Eight Weeks In North America

Box Office Pro Predicts Dark Phoenix To Gross Only $113 Million In Its First Eight Weeks In North America

carlocarrasco

Box Office Pro, a self-described premiere source of information about the global cinema industry, just predicted that Dark Phoenix (or X-Men: Dark Phoenix in other territories) will open in North American cinemas with $40 million to $55 million and eventually will gross only $113 million in the first eight weeks.

Their reasons are as follows:

The early social media buzz of the film is lower than that of X-Men: Apocalypse at the same point of release.

The early revelation showing the death of one of the major characters “muddied” buzz as of late.

There is “franchise fatigue” for the X-Men Cinematic Universe and as Disney completed at last its acquisition of Fox, it is expected by many fans that the X-Men in film will be rebooted although that will not be happening anytime soon.

If Box Office Pro’s predictions will turn out correct, it means that Dark Phoenix will do worse North American theater business than its 2016 predecessor.

What Box Office Pro did not take into account as a business hindrance for Dark Phoenix is the fact that the movie is the first-ever feature film directed by screenwriter Simon Kinberg (which I already mentioned in my Dark Phoenix movie preview) and prior to filming his most active directing work was as a 2nd unit director for the abysmal 2015 Fantastic Four movie.

At this point things are already looking grim for the upcoming X-Men movie.

Still there is a chance that Box Office Pro could turn out wrong. They previously predicted in 2017 that Wonder Woman would open only with $83 million and gross $225 million within the first eight weeks. That film opened with over $103 million and by the end of its eight weekend its sales reached over $389 million!

Going back to Dark Phoenix, I believe that it is likely that online buzz for the film will get stronger as its scheduled release date nears and it is likely that in North America, superhero movie enthusiasts, X-Men fans and other moviegoers will literally get their next “serving” of superhero cinematic fun with the movie. In relation to this, the demand for the expected sure hit Avengers: Endgame will have faded by the time Dark Phoenix opens.

What Fox has to worry about in terms of movie competition is Warner Bros.’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Still, I believe that there are more than enough moviegoers out there who will crave for more superhero fun after they had their fun with Avengers: Endgame.

If Simon Kinberg proves to be a very miraculous first-time director and deliver a very engaging story, then there is the possibility that Dark Phoenix could outgross X-Men: Apocalypse even if it had a smaller opening than that film.

Only time can tell what will happen next.

A Look Back At Fantastic Four #375 (1993)

A Look Back At Fantastic Four #375 (1993)

carlocarrasco

When it comes to cinema, Marvel’s Fantastic Four has yet to achieve greatness commercially and critically. Already four movies were made and the last one released in 2015 was so terrible, I felt that the Fantastic Four brand suffered.

Truly the best way to enjoy the stories of Fantastic Four is in the comic books with a long bridge connecting to its past. Through the decades no doubt. Like any other comic book series, Fantastic Four had its high points, low points as well the unusual or intriguing stuff.

Today we take a close look at Fantastic Four #375.

Released in 1993 by Marvel Comics at a prize of $2.95, Fantastic Four #375 came with a foil cover which shines under direct light. The gimmick cover, which was part of the trend of the 1990s, had that “Bling!” visual effect when the brightest light is used on it.

Written by Tom DeFalco and drawn by Paul Ryan, the comic book follows the Fantastic Four with Lyja and Sharon who find themselves suddenly transported into space inside a facility with Uatu, the Watcher. They learned from Uata that their mortal enemy Doctor Doom usurped the power of a renegade Watcher called Aron. Uatu expressed that Doom has grown into a greater threat.

The Fantastic Four and their companions split up in an attempt to find Doom before it is too late.

Storywise, the splitting of the protagonists allowed some notable character development moments to happen. I liked the scene wherein Sharon tries to comfort Ben (The Thing) whose solid face got damaged by Wolverine during a very recent encounter (told in Fantastic Four #374) which makes him vulnerable to excruciating pain when he gets hit on the soft spots. Johnny Storm meanwhile deals with the Skrull woman Lyja whom he has a conflict with. And then there is Reed Richards with wife Sue struggling with some issues as they work together.

Sue said to Richard: I can’t believe that you allowed the Watcher to buffalo you into fighting his battle especially since Johnny is still wanted by the police back on Earth!

When they finally confront Doom, there was this division between them.

Richard: Susan! We must protect the optimizer at all costs!

Sue: Then you guard it! If he’s hurt my brother, Doom is mine!

When it comes to quality, the story can be hard to grasp if you missed out on the previous issues. This was because the conflicts between the characters clearly started from some time back. Also it was interesting to see the Inhumans in the mix.

On spectacle, there is a lot of action to satisfy readers. As this was released in 1993, the 1990s superhero trends were unsurprisingly present such as those large futuristic guns and excess pouches/pockets. While they do make sense in the context of the story, the use of guns by key members of the Fantastic Four (which is reflective of the decade of the comic book’s release) can be alienating to any Fantastic Four fan who has gotten used to seeing the team NOT using such weapons.

Artist Paul Ryan, for the most part, delivered serviceable visuals and clearly tried his best to add impact on the action scenes.

Overall, Fantastic Four #375 delivers some temporary fun. Is it a very memorable Fantastic Four story? Absolutely not. Is it a must-read or a must-buy for new comic book collectors? Not really. In my opinion, the most engaging feature of the comic book is just its shiny cover. Once readers get past the cover and immerse themselves into the story, they won’t got much value in return other than temporary fun.

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The cover with the “Bling!” visual effect under bright light!

 If you find Fantastic Four #375 at a bargain bin for less than $1, then it would be a good purchase. Don’t pay any higher than $1 for it.

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