15 votes

Christmas box office: ‘Aquaman 2’ sinks with $40 million debut

19 comments

  1. [4]
    scherlock
    Link
    Aquaman 2?

    Aquaman 2?

    17 votes
    1. [3]
      Grayscail
      Link Parent
      The sequel to Aquaman

      The sequel to Aquaman

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        scherlock
        Link Parent
        Yeah, I got that. I have not seen or heard any advertising about the movie. I thought it was still on hold, didn't even realize they had actually made it.

        Yeah, I got that. I have not seen or heard any advertising about the movie. I thought it was still on hold, didn't even realize they had actually made it.

        13 votes
        1. cloud_loud
          Link Parent
          I read somewhere that it had the same marketing budget as Shazam 2, which was also buried by WB. Definitely a tactic after WB sunk too much into marketing The Flash.

          I read somewhere that it had the same marketing budget as Shazam 2, which was also buried by WB. Definitely a tactic after WB sunk too much into marketing The Flash.

          7 votes
  2. [15]
    online_persona
    Link
    Dear Hollywood, stop making comic book hero movies. Kind regards, online_persona

    Dear Hollywood,
    stop making comic book hero movies.
    Kind regards,
    online_persona

    11 votes
    1. Minty
      Link Parent
      Nah. Dredd (2012) was excellent and true to source, though sadly undermarketed and didn't sell. Deadpool stuff is fun. Loved some of the Marvel movies. Spider-Man movies are great. DC does amazing...

      Nah.

      Dredd (2012) was excellent and true to source, though sadly undermarketed and didn't sell. Deadpool stuff is fun. Loved some of the Marvel movies. Spider-Man movies are great. DC does amazing animation, like Crisis on Two Earths (2010), and some of the Batman movies were very entertaining. Not movies, but Invincible is brilliant, and The Boys is better than the source material.

      It can be done, it keeps getting done.

      The problem isn't they're "comic book hero movies". There's plenty of real issues, from becoming a multiverse of zero-stakes nonsense (...like the comics really), requiring the audience to have seen 20 h of other material despite it being bad, churning out whatever without any regard for quality (especially writing), sequelitis, frankly confusing targeting and marketing (who even was supposed to watch Aquaman 2? or The Marvels?). Some of these affect more than superhero media, too.

      32 votes
    2. [13]
      chundissimo
      Link Parent
      Stop making comic book movies filled with bad writing and overused CGI. Good comic book movies can and should continue to be made. Iron Man, Black Panther, No Way Home, etc.

      Stop making comic book movies filled with bad writing and overused CGI. Good comic book movies can and should continue to be made. Iron Man, Black Panther, No Way Home, etc.

      10 votes
      1. [8]
        cloud_loud
        Link Parent
        Honestly I'd say the only good comic book movies to release post pandemic have been Guardians 3 and The Batman. No Way Home is fine but it doesn't hold up on rewatches.

        Honestly I'd say the only good comic book movies to release post pandemic have been Guardians 3 and The Batman. No Way Home is fine but it doesn't hold up on rewatches.

        8 votes
        1. [7]
          JoshuaJ
          Link Parent
          Guardians 3 was just emotionally manipulating it wasn’t actually good.

          Guardians 3 was just emotionally manipulating it wasn’t actually good.

          10 votes
          1. [2]
            cloud_loud
            Link Parent
            Nah it was good. James Gunn has always been good at writing character arcs. It’s also the best looking Marvel movie since… well since Guardians 2.

            Nah it was good. James Gunn has always been good at writing character arcs. It’s also the best looking Marvel movie since… well since Guardians 2.

            15 votes
            1. TheBeardedSingleMalt
              Link Parent
              G3 was 2 or 3 good action sequences and 2 heart-strings scene sandwiches in-between characters yelling at each other for 2 hours and slapstick.

              G3 was 2 or 3 good action sequences and 2 heart-strings scene sandwiches in-between characters yelling at each other for 2 hours and slapstick.

              2 votes
          2. [3]
            TMarkos
            Link Parent
            So, I didn't actually like Guardians 2. I thought that the Guardians around that time had become flanderized shells of characters that were annoying in most scenes. Something that Guardians 3 did...

            So, I didn't actually like Guardians 2. I thought that the Guardians around that time had become flanderized shells of characters that were annoying in most scenes. Something that Guardians 3 did that really won me over was that it brought forward all of those same behaviors, but logically handled the reasons why the characters acted the way they did and, in most cases, had the events of the movie impact and alter their character by the end. I'm thinking specifically of Mantis and Drax, here, but all of the actors really brought their A game to drawing out the emotion and nuance in their roles. I am generally lukewarm on Chris Pratt as an actor, and even he really knocked it out of the park.

            I also thought that it was just very well composed technically. The cinematography and composition was very good, and the scoring was really interesting - in a series that defined itself so strongly on its music, having the villain alter the score to classical influences was a fun and thematically appropriate decision.

            7 votes
            1. [2]
              JoshuaJ
              (edited )
              Link Parent
              Thanks for taking the time to answer thoughtfully! I felt the same way, but I also didn't like how overt the animal cruelty slant was and the way they made characters like “floor” who they...

              Thanks for taking the time to answer thoughtfully!

              I felt the same way, but I also didn't like how overt the animal cruelty slant was and the way they made characters like “floor” who they introduced to give rocket a backstory.

              I like guardians, but I felt manipulated a bit by the really sad elements.

              3 votes
              1. chocobean
                Link Parent
                I liked the franchise and even 2 was a lot of fun for me. But after watching the trailer I decided not to watch it because it looks like it's just going to be rocket being sad and they'll...

                I liked the franchise and even 2 was a lot of fun for me. But after watching the trailer I decided not to watch it because it looks like it's just going to be rocket being sad and they'll introduce lots of other adorable fuzzy little guys that won't make it past the film.

                For that same reason I disliked how they set up Deadpool 2 and find it hard to forgive.

                Thanks for your comment on GotG2 feeling manipulative. I will continue to avoid it even though it sounds like it was probably a quite good film

          3. Woeps
            Link Parent
            Maybe or maybe not, I personally found it a fun watch but nothing stellar. The Batman however was just a big snooze fest without any feeling (as far I'm concerned).

            Maybe or maybe not, I personally found it a fun watch but nothing stellar.
            The Batman however was just a big snooze fest without any feeling (as far I'm concerned).

      2. [4]
        blivet
        Link Parent
        Leaving everything else aside, judging from the trailer it looked awful. It’s actually kind of sad that people with an enormous budget and total control over every visual aspect of the production...

        overused CGI

        Leaving everything else aside, judging from the trailer it looked awful. It’s actually kind of sad that people with an enormous budget and total control over every visual aspect of the production couldn’t come up with something attractive or interesting to look at.

        3 votes
        1. [3]
          Tigress
          Link Parent
          The first one was playing on tv recently. It happened to come on after something I was watching and I didn't notice the title screen. I did start watching a little and it looked like some campy...

          The first one was playing on tv recently. It happened to come on after something I was watching and I didn't notice the title screen. I did start watching a little and it looked like some campy 70's movie (the stuff that really makes my eyes roll). Didn't watch much past that besides trying to figure out what it was.

          Honestly, I have no want to watch a 2nd one (only even watched the beginning of the first) just from that.

          2 votes
          1. [2]
            Lonan
            Link Parent
            I quite liked the first one. But I also liked Wonder Woman 84 and that was universally panned. I appreciated that they were mostly standalone efforts, rather than the Marvel movies that require...

            I quite liked the first one. But I also liked Wonder Woman 84 and that was universally panned. I appreciated that they were mostly standalone efforts, rather than the Marvel movies that require doing homework beforehand to know who everyone is. And Pedro Pascal's baddie in WW was hilariously OTT. I've not watched any superhero stuff since WW84 though and I doubt I'll see this one. But bad CGI and silly outfits aren't enough to ruin these for me, normally what ruins them is bad plot and deus ex machina solutions to everything.

            1 vote
            1. Tigress
              Link Parent
              The bad outfits gave a bad first impression, but the backstory at the beginning and the first scene gave me a bad impression of writing/dialogue too. It was all too cheesy.

              The bad outfits gave a bad first impression, but the backstory at the beginning and the first scene gave me a bad impression of writing/dialogue too. It was all too cheesy.

              1 vote