Archive Page 2167

June 2023

Well, this sure doesn't look good for The Flash's prospects going into the summer

Story at AV Club

Let’s be clear, up front: Wednesday nights do not decide the fates of giant, massively budgeted blockbuster movies. Nobody looks at the performance of their ginormous superhero movie or mega-expensive rom-com musical and says, “Whew, well, at least we won Wednesday night!” Even so, it’s probably pretty alarming to somebody at Warner Bros. to see that their brand new, very expensive superhero movie The Flash—which has now been in theaters for all of seven whole days—had already slipped to third place at the box office this Wednesday.

Is the Shumacher cut of Batman Forever finally coming?

Story at Superherohype

The talk online about the Shumacher "darker" cut of Batman Forever has been going on for years. Maybe its finally going to happen.

Werewolf by Night one-shot coming from Marvel

Story at Yahoo News

Psychology Today magazine detects some elements of unreality in superhero comic books – Psychology Today

Comic Book legend Dr. Fredric Wertham comes to mind as this analysis is narrated along familiar lines about taming the comic book world.

Superhero Comics and the Freedom of Art

Sony's El Muerto gets cancelled from movie production – Variety

The film was to be set in the Sony "Spider-Man Universe" about a Mexican wrestler whose superhuman powers stem from a special mask.

As an alternative, why not revive Santos the golden-masked wrestler or even Neutron, the Atomic Superman?

Pixar's Elemental and The Flash fail to connect with decent box office over weekend – Hollywood Reporter MSN

The return of the phrase "Superhero Fatigue" – Variety

“Superhero fatigue” is a phrase that tends to make devoted movie lovers swoon with rapture. If you’re someone who cares about movies, who cares about cinema, the very prospect of superhero fatigue inspires you to think: Yes! There’s hope! People will get tired of this shit! But let’s be honest — that’s probably wishful thinking. In the last 20 years, led by Marvel but by no means limited to Marvel, comic book movies have infiltrated our culture and our consciousness to the point that they’re now part of who we are.

"Superhero fatigue" is back

Looks like The Flash is tanking – Los Angeles Times MSN

The Flash opened in first place at the domestic box office this weekend, grossing $55.1 million...but the superhero movie — whose marketing campaign has been marred by legal scandals and disturbing allegations surrounding its star, Ezra Miller — fell short of early domestic box office projections in the $70-million to $75-million range.

Kirby family responds to the Disney+ Stan Lee Documentary – comicbook

Criticizing the documentary for treating Kirby "as an after thought."

My father Neal Kirby (Jack Kirby’s son) has asked me to post this written statement in response to the Stan Lee documentary released yesterday on Disney+. pic.twitter.com/V4be2xyEJg

— Jillian Kirby (Granddaughter of Jack Kirby) (@Kirby4Heroes) June 17, 2023

Related: The Copyright Wars of the Superheroes

Is The Flash three-day opening bringing in only $55 million? – KOB

The scale for the opening weekend keeps dropping.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ... its third weekend, with $27.8 million. Sony is projecting that its domestic total will have reached $285 million through Monday.

Gal Gadot to join Margo Robbie for Barbie movie? – Comic Book

Some Box Office June 20, 2023

• The Flash – $138,700,000 Worldwide
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – $493,603,000 Worldwide
• Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – $278,922,183 Worldwide
• The Little Mermaid – $468,246,721 Worldwide
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 – $821,902,211 Worldwide
• Fast X – $677,610,305 Worldwide
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie – $1,327,062,000 Worldwide

Recently finished in theatres:

• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – $476,071,180 Worldwide - On Home Video but still in some theatres
• John Wick: Chapter 4 – $427,826,501 Worldwide
• Avatar: The Way of Water – $2,320,250,281 Worldwide
• Renfield – $25,326,625 Worldwide
• Shazam! Fury of the Gods – $133,438,006 Worldwide
• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – $207,954,502 Worldwide

Andy Muschietti responds to complaints about The Flash CGI: we did it that way on purpose, its part of the stories visual language – Gizmodo

... the visual effects. In the film, director Andy Muschietti has to create a whole new visual language not just for when Barry is running (called the “Speed Force”), but also later in the movie, when he runs so fast he can turn back time (in a place called the “Chrono Bowl”). And anytime the movie is in the Speed Force or Chrono Bowl, any other human being that isn’t Barry looks, let’s say, weird.

Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse II gets banned in the UAE

Story at Bounding into Comics and at Yahoo Entertainment

Both Superman #1 and Action Comics #1 go for over $1.5 million each in weekend auction – Comicbook

The top price on Action Comics #1 was in January 2022 when a CGC 6.0 copy went for $3.180 million – Heritage Auctions Page

$60 Million prediction for The Flash over Weekend – MSN Deadline Hollywood

There are a lot of lessons to be learned this weekend, but chief among them, is what’s it like for a major motion picture studio to open a movie with largely a number of its cast, primarily its main star, not available to do press."

Predicting a $70 million opening for The Flash over this weekend – The Numbers

The Flash gets what looks like a $9 million dollar start on Thursday night previews – Deadline Hollywood MSN

Only four days left to bid on Dark Kingdom by Frank Frazetta - Heritage Auctions

The Flash director Andy Muschietti is going to be doing the announced The Brave and the Bold movie, says James Gunn – Superherohype

Seeing The Flash in theatres, finally

Thursday night previews of The Flash in Virginia: audience at about 80% capacity in a "total immersion theatre" (meaning pumped in odors added to the visual and audio spectacle). Crowd liked the film, the first 40% of the screening held rapt attention with a lot of laughter at the jokes, film lagged during the second-to-third act transition with audience talking to themselves and some kids wandering around, but by the wind-up of the confrontation with Zod and the denouement the crowd was back to a rapt attention (except for some overtaxed infants who were crying, and to add to the effectiveness of the movie with a section of the audience, there was some sobbing going on at the pathos of the tale). At the conclusion there was some clapping for the movie, and probably 80% of the existing audience stayed through the long credit scroll to see the Aquaman-Flash tidbit at the end.

First opinion on The Flash movie: It is a lot better than it deserves to be for a film that's been shot, reshot and cut this way and that by arriving-and-departing directors (and cast members). Nine years is a lifetime (or multiple lifetimes) in movie-production years, and that The Flash isn't the hopeless, glossy muddle that so many other superhero films have been of late is a surprise.

The Flash

The Flash movie reviews are starting to appear, and they run the gamut from "very good" to "souless, heartless, corporate garbage" (Twitter account Max Priestly).

‘The Flash’ is the most exciting DC superhero movie in years – Boston.com MSN

‘The Flash’ Director Got a “Confidence Boost” When Tom Cruise Called to Praise His Film – Hollywood Reporter MSN

"I have seen the Flash, was it the absolute triumph some critics make it out to be? No. Is it better than Black Adam, Shazam II or .. .Quantumania. Yeah. ....The Batmen are the best thing in it. It's just another multiverse movie and I'm over it. ... might be the most expensive movie ever made..." – You Tube Nerdrotic

DC Needs a Win – but 'The Flash' Faces a Fight at the Box Office – The Wrap MSN

Redeeming Ezra Miller – Arkansas Online

Original page June 23, 2023