Buzz
The slowdown of 'Blue Beetle' - deemed the finest film by DC Studios - indicates that audiences are beginning to tire of the familiar and ponderous superhero movie tropes.
Premiered on August 18th, 'Blue Beetle' - a part of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) - is perceived as a superhero film, even hailed as the best film by DC Studios (under Warner Bros).
'Blue Beetle' revolves around the character Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), a 22-year-old Mexican-American teenager who becomes the superhero Blue Beetle after being symbiotically bonded with an extraterrestrial creature named Scarab, resembling a blue beetle.
The film received high praise on Rotten Tomatoes, with 77% from critics and 92% from audiences. These are significant numbers within the superhero film genre.
However, the film only garnered $45 million globally in its opening week. This opening revenue is clearly unimpressive compared to films like 'Oppenheimer' ($174 million) or 'Barbie' ($155 million). While 'Blue Beetle' has yet to earn half of its budget ($104 million), 'Oppenheimer' and 'Barbie' easily surpassed theirs, with budgets of $100 million and $145 million respectively.
According to The New York Post, Blue Beetle continues DC's embarrassing streak of flops over the past year, including Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and The Flash. 'They're all losers,' the paper writes.
In the Marvel realm, things aren't too bleak but the party is slowly winding down. 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' premiered in early May, raking in $845 million worldwide. While not insignificant, this figure is unlikely to reach the $1-2 billion mark like its predecessors.
Meanwhile, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania grossed $476 million, easily outshone this year by Oppenheimer (nearly $800 million) and Barbie (over $1.2 billion).
Five years ago, this outcome would have been unimaginable. However, viewers' tastes are rapidly evolving. They crave something fresher than the tale of an ordinary person gaining supernatural powers from a lab accident.
People aren't enthusiastic about discussing the next two superhero projects, The Marvels and Deadpool 3, set to debut next year. Instead, they're busy debating the value of Florence Pugh's steamy love scenes in Oppenheimer.
Why is the superhero movie universe 'falling out of favor'?
Beginning from the dawn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2008 with Iron Man, the entertainment industry has been disrupted by Napoleonic, where film series and sprawling TV shows interconnect like the campaigns of Emperor Napoleon. Initially captivating and novel, their prolonged duration has become intolerable for audiences.
The most egregious offenders include Disney's MCU (32 films, 21 TV shows), Warner Bros' DCEU (15 films, one TV show), the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (11 films, a seven-season TV show in the works), Disney's Star Wars sagas (12 films, 16 TV shows), and whatever Amazon is doing with Lord of the Rings.
No one denies the cinematic and televisual prowess of these entertainment behemoths. Marvel's Black Panther earned billions and an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, while Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens ended a decade-long anticipation with gusto, and The Mandalorian on Disney+ dominated global discourse for months.
However, no one wants to pay and sit through a grueling 30-film marathon anymore. For viewers, life is complicated enough; they don't want to watch every episode of WandaVision just to comprehend Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Now, audiences are striving to halt the proliferation of more burgeoning cinematic universes before it's too late.
Take Mattel, for instance. Following Barbie's resounding success, the renowned toy company plans to create its own stacked toy-to-film universe. Despite the initial excitement for Margot Robbie's new film, when the announcement came that Lena Dunham would direct a movie about Polly Pocket with Lily Collins, social media erupted in vehement criticism. They deemed the Barbie Universe ludicrous, arguing that Barbie doesn't need to meet American Girl dolls in live-action.
The decline in box office revenue alongside the surge in blockbuster releases such as Super Mario Bros. and Avatar: The Way of Water is a reason to be optimistic that cinematic universes may soon be bundled up and put away.
However, at present, Disney and Warner Bros are still going overboard. There are at least eight different Marvel films in various stages of production with release dates slated until 2027. In 2020, Disney announced an additional 10 'Star Wars' TV shows for Disney+. DCEU is also making the most of fresh faces like James Gunn and Peter Safran, with 5 films and 5 TV shows.
The question remains: How long can audiences endure?
