Archive Page 2158

March 5, 2023

Creed III comes out of the corner with a $58 million start, largest yet of the franchise series – MSN Variety

...dethroning two-time champ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ...but the third installment, directed by series star Michael B. Jordan in his feature filmmaking debut, got a boost from stellar reviews and strong audience scores. Initial ticket buyers, who awarded the film an "A-" CinemaScore, were 63% male while 55% were between the ages of 18 and 34. "Creed III" also benefitted from pricer Imax tickets (a huge 38% of business came from premium large format screens), as well as a better-than-expected turnout on Friday with $22 million alone.

Creed III worldwide loot: $22,000,000

Quantumania worldwide loot: $373,600,352

Keanu Reeves would like to play Wolverine – as.com

Jonathan Majors takes on the bad reviews for ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ – Variety MSN

“It’s just people,” Majors added about film critics. “They have an opinion. You always have an opinion. I’m no fool. I know these are people writing it. These aren’t my Yale professors or my drama teachers. These are people who have kids and they have a perspective, they have a religious upbringing or a lack thereof. They live in this town, or they want to be seen in this way or don’t want to be seen in this way. I look at the aggregate and, ok, 47. But what does that 47 mean when you also got this amount of box office? What do these things mean? It’s information. I am in the know. I won’t play myself. If you are a critic on a level, I probably know you and understand your politics.”

Box Office Mojo puts Quantumania's worldwide haul at $370,482,181

"Retailers navigating the new normal in comic book sales" – Publishers Weekly

2022 Manga Sales figures show 9% increase – Anime News Network

John Wick 4 looks toward biggest opening yet for the franchise – Heroic Hollywood

To Cape, or not to Cape

We asked the CHAT GPT Artificial Intelligence about the issues of Capes vs Not Capes. Here's the result:

The issue of superheroes wearing capes or not wearing capes is a matter of debate among fans and creators of superhero comics and films. Here are some potential issues associated with each:

Wearing capes:

1. Safety hazards: Capes can pose a safety risk to superheroes, as they can get caught on objects or be used against the hero by an enemy.

2. Practicality: Capes are not always practical for fighting or performing other superhero activities, as they can be cumbersome and hinder movement.

3. Iconic status: Capes have become an iconic part of superhero costumes, and some fans and creators argue that they are an essential part of the superhero look.

Not wearing capes:

1. Loss of iconic status: Removing the cape from a superhero's costume can change the character's iconic look and may be viewed as a departure from the traditional superhero archetype.

2. Less dramatic flair: Capes can add a sense of drama and visual interest to superhero costumes, and their absence may make the costume less visually striking.

3. Greater mobility: Removing the cape can give superheroes greater mobility and flexibility, allowing them to move more freely in combat situations.

Ultimately, the decision to include or exclude a cape in a superhero's costume is up to the individual creators and their artistic vision for the character. While there may be practical or aesthetic arguments for or against capes, what matters most is that the costume reflects the character's personality and story.

The superhero movies that are trilogies – MSN Movie Web

Article talks about why the trilogy story formula is the classic three-act storytelling technique common to not just film but novels, and of course, comic books.

The article talks about the directors James Gunn, Sam Raimi, Peyton Reed, Jon Watts, Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan.

There are numerous stories of filmmakers directing two superhero films before departing ahead of the third film which includes Richard Donner on Superman, Tim Burton on Batman, Bryan Singer on X-Men, and Joss Whedon on The Avengers. There are times when a third film never materializes due to underperformance at the box office and a trilogy remains unfinished as was the case with Guillermo del Toro on Hellboy or Marc Webb on The Amazing Spider-Man series.

The most influential Neal Adams' comics – Wealth of Geeks

About ComicsPRO 2023

"...I'm wanting people to know what we've been going through. The overall week was great. All the publishers, the creators, all the vendors, all the retailers, is great... regardless of what people would like for you to believe online, we don't hate each other. That is the farthest thing from the truth. The only thing thing we're trying to do is figure out how to raise this industry up. So we all work towards that, and every retailer in that room had each others back, and we all support each other, and talk to each other all the time. It is not a... one thing means one thing for you but means nothing for me. That's just not how it works. As everyone in that room would tell you, there are three-thousand comic shops, and there are no two alike." - Richmond Comix shop

Expectations that Creed III will replace Quantumania for box office leader this weekend

Quantumania at $367,491,765 worldwide against a reported production budget of $200 million – Boxofficemojo

"...meaning the film needs to gross around $727 million worldwide to break even" – Daily Campus

"The soft tracking reflects a campaign that has been slightly askew. First, there has been very little in the way of big marketing events. Disney released only one trailer for the film back in late October. Second, Paul Rudd has been noticeably absent from the print campaign" – The Quorum

Comic book artist Jeffrey Veregge deeply ill

Story at King5

He's been commissioned to create dozens of Marvel covers, to design murals like the one at Seattle's Citizen M hotel; he's even had his art featured by the Smithsonian. Then came Father's Day of 2021. "He seemed fine," Christina said. "He had a little bit of a cough. The next day he woke up and was coughing blood." Veregge went to the hospital for what he thought was pneumonia. He he spent five weeks in an induced coma, woke up, and discovered he'd been diagnosed with an especially aggressive form of lupus, an incurable auto immune disease that affects 1.5 million Americans.

With all time high sales, time to disrupt the comics industry with the cartoonist co-op – MSN Mary Sue

Although sales are at an all-time high in the comics industry, many creators are not seeing the returns of those profits."

What? I keep reading elsewhere that comic books are taking a beating in regards to sales, grinding down to record lows (unless its Manga or Manhua, which has spent the last few years busting records but has cooled a bit lately. See this article at Mainichi).

Should creators get a share of profits for what does sell, though, as this article proposes, yes certainly.

Here's the article topic at the Cartoonist Co-op website

More about Comic Book Sales, with charts, at Words Rated

What did you do? The New Flash preview trailer shows us Supergirl – Yahoo Entertainment

The video continues to highlight the consequences of Barry Allen’s decision to alter the past. It also provides us with a new look at Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl.

Original page Febraury 14, 2023