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Superman is doing fine domestically, not great but not terrible. Internationally, it’s a disaster. The most common comparisons are The Flash, The Marvels and The Eternals. Apparently international markets right now aren’t interested in a DC (boo!) comic book movie (boo!) about America’s most American (booo!) hero. Gunn’s DCU may be DOA. (Sorry. I had to.)


Also, M3gan 2.0 somehow bombed huge.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

Also, M3gan 2.0 somehow bombed huge.

Boo!

ccs wrote:

grahamdbailey wrote:
I love the cinema, and don't mind paying to go. But the real issue isn't the price, it's the behaviours of others in the cinema. This has pretty much stopped me attending; it's been months since the last time I went when I used to go regularly.
Cinema etiquette seems to have died as a thing.

It might just be a location or show time problem.
I hardly ever go to a movie during peak show times. Most things I've seen opening weekend in recent years have been on Thur evening about 7/8pm, earliest showing Sat morning (because there's gaming to be done later ), or late afternoon/evening Sunday.
Virtually no audience issues.

Other stuff I'll catch a week or so later & the crowds will have moved on.

I went with my daughter on Saturday to watch the live-action 'How to Train Your Dragon' and we had the screen to ourselves! It was great, thoroughly enjoyed it.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Superman is doing fine domestically, not great but not terrible. Internationally, it’s a disaster. The most common comparisons are The Flash, The Marvels and The Eternals. Apparently international markets right now aren’t interested in a DC (boo!) comic book movie (boo!) about America’s most American (booo!) hero. Gunn’s DCU may be DOA. (Sorry. I had to.)

Without commenting on Superman specifically, is this actually a good time to launch a movie? Most of Germany is one or two weeks into the school summer holidays. I imagine a fair few people that might have gone seen a movie are too busy lying on a beach right now.

Indoor hobbies take a nose-dive at this time of year. Eg for model sales right now is the nose-dive region where sales are really at their lowest point.

Of course there's a flipside to this which is to do big marketing pushes for large things like major sales and new editions of games around now to try and push those sales up higher.

So there's a flipside to it IF you can get it to work




For hollywood and superheroes I would hazard that perhaps people are just burned out on them. Every major film craze has its end-point and I feel like superheroes are into that period where they are potentially starting to wind down. Not that they aren't still popular, just that they are no longer the new-hotness. That all it will take is one landmark film or short series of films to kick-start the next film craze.

Personally I think that for the superhero films all the different interconnected films; multiple restarts; meta-verse and tied in TV series has worked great for die-hard fans; but is terrible for casual fans. Casual fans but out; get confused and fed up.

I know I can't get excited about "oh its another restart of X superhero" or "oh its another metaverse one where a few key actors changed/costume changed; I need to go watch 3 TV series on another character to catch up and then there's 4 other films I need to see to flesh out the backstory so that this new film doesn't feel watered down and hollow and and and...

Also worth noting there are now genre defining classics that initially bombed.

The Thing sticks in my mind the most as an example. Big Trouble in Little China, too.

 Geifer wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Superman is doing fine domestically, not great but not terrible. Internationally, it’s a disaster. The most common comparisons are The Flash, The Marvels and The Eternals. Apparently international markets right now aren’t interested in a DC (boo!) comic book movie (boo!) about America’s most American (booo!) hero. Gunn’s DCU may be DOA. (Sorry. I had to.)

Without commenting on Superman specifically, is this actually a good time to launch a movie? Most of Germany is one or two weeks into the school summer holidays. I imagine a fair few people that might have gone seen a movie are too busy lying on a beach right now.

In the US, parents can’t afford travel or air conditioning, so summer vacation is the best time for a movie aimed at all audiences. I guess studios don’t account for European vacations.

I thought in the USA they just packaged their kids to the woods for a week of outdoors learning; fun and being murdered by a local crazy person/wildbeast/monster/aliens

At least that's what decades of films have taught me

That was Gen X, my generation. From the TV, I gather todays kids are sealed in bubble wrap and given participation trophies. No one under 20 wants to see a dead body no more.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
That was Gen X, my generation. From the TV, I gather todays kids are sealed in bubble wrap and given participation trophies. No one under 20 wants to see a dead body no more.

My generation was the generation to hear a noise, grab a flashlight and go investigate.

The new generation hears a noise and turns up the volume on their headphones.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Superman is doing fine domestically, not great but not terrible. Internationally, it’s a disaster. The most common comparisons are The Flash, The Marvels and The Eternals. Apparently international markets right now aren’t interested in a DC (boo!) comic book movie (boo!) about America’s most American (booo!) hero. Gunn’s DCU may be DOA. (Sorry. I had to.)

It will be successful enough to keep Warner going with the DCU, at least for the projects that are already started. There's a quote from Warner CEO that they are excited about the reception its getting, but that might just be corporate positivity-speak, given that he's the head and all. From IGN:

Superman's early numbers also seem to have pleased DC Studios' parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, with CEO David Zaslav commenting he "couldn't be more excited" to now see the rest of Gunn's DCU plans unfold.

"This weekend, we watched Superman soar as James Gunn's passion and vision came to life on the big screen," Zaslav said, via Deadline. "Superman is just the first step.

"Over the next year alone, DC Studios will introduce the films Supergirl and Clayface in theaters and the series Lanterns on HBO Max, all part of a bold 10-year plan. The DC vision is clear, the momentum is real, and I couldn't be more excited for what's ahead."

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Also, M3gan 2.0 somehow bombed huge.

The trailers that I saw did the movie no favors.

 nels1031 wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Also, M3gan 2.0 somehow bombed huge.

The trailers that I saw did the movie no favors.

I think most people were confused about what the movie was supposed to be.

Based on the trailer, my first thought was, "huh?"

The sad thing is the trailers don’t reflect on the actual movie. It’s got the same sense of humor as the first movie, but instead of horror has Upgrade-style fights and Mission Impossible-style spy/heisting. The trailer made it seem like there’d be a Britney Spears themed drag brunch, which there was not.

Lets be clear, no matter what its not the kind of movie you make to be a box office hit. It's a movie you release to the box office to market its eventual release for streaming and Blu-Ray.

 LunarSol wrote:
Lets be clear, no matter what its not the kind of movie you make to be a box office hit. It's a movie you release to the box office to market its eventual release for streaming and Blu-Ray.

Disagree. First one made near $200 million on a $15 million budget. With that kind of return, there is no way they weren't hoping to have lightning strike twice at the box office.

 Geifer wrote:

Without commenting on Superman specifically, is this actually a good time to launch a movie? Most of Germany is one or two weeks into the school summer holidays. I imagine a fair few people that might have gone seen a movie are too busy lying on a beach right now.

Family movies generally aim for holiday releases, so families can go see them. Although IIRC, closer to the start of the holiday is generally better.

School's just gone back, here. So nobody's going to the cinema.

For DC, I would agree with the suggestion that they're up against superhero fatigue, and the poor perception of DC as a result of the last few movies. (And internationally, the aforementioned poor perception of America generally at the moment) It's going to take time and a solid run of good movies to shift that... Superman was never going to do that on its own.

 LunarSol wrote:
Lets be clear, no matter what its not the kind of movie you make to be a box office hit. It's a movie you release to the box office to market its eventual release for streaming and Blu-Ray.

Not if you release it in a crowded summer, no. Maybe in January, like the first movie…

 insaniak wrote:

 Geifer wrote:

Without commenting on Superman specifically, is this actually a good time to launch a movie? Most of Germany is one or two weeks into the school summer holidays. I imagine a fair few people that might have gone seen a movie are too busy lying on a beach right now.

Family movies generally aim for holiday releases, so families can go see them. Although IIRC, closer to the start of the holiday is generally better.

School's just gone back, here. So nobody's going to the cinema.

For DC, I would agree with the suggestion that they're up against superhero fatigue, and the poor perception of DC as a result of the last few movies. (And internationally, the aforementioned poor perception of America generally at the moment) It's going to take time and a solid run of good movies to shift that... Superman was never going to do that on its own.

Which does open a window for non-family movies. I see limited appeal in most family movies, so am unlikely to go see them. But. Offer me a horror or a sci-fi? Now you’ve got my attention. And, perhaps for parents of older kids? Something for them to go see whilst the kids see the family fare.

Fantastic Four saw a significant drop (66%) in its second weekend pulling in $40 million.

After a healthy $117.6 million debut, “The Fantastic Four” suffered a hefty 66% drop in its sophomore outing with $40 million from 4,125 theaters. Heading into the weekend, box office analysts anticipated a decline of 55% to 60% from its opening. (By comparison, “Superman” dropped by 53% in its second weekend after launching to $125 million earlier in July.) This painful fall is surprising because the Marvel tentpole has the benefit of positive reviews and word-of-mouth, as well as a clear runway in terms of competition.

Also

At No. 3, Paramount’s slapstick comedy “The Naked Gun” debuted to $17 million from 3,344 theaters, right in line with projections. The film earned another $11.5 million at the international box office, bringing its global tally to $28.5 million. It’s a promising start given the dearth of theatrical comedies. Akiva Schaffer of the Lonely Island fame directed the film, which carries a $42 million price tag.

Comedies tend to let out better. And this one has good word of mouth.

Weapons:

As of August 10, 2025, Weapons has grossed $43.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $28.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $71.8 million.

Pretty decent win on a budget of 38 million and its only going to go up.

Doubt it will go on a Sinners type run, as that was pretty unprecedented, but this movie was so hyped that I worried it wouldn't live up to its buzz and end up as a bust. Particularly because it was somewhat rushed into a 2025 release rather than 2026 as initially planned.

Off to see it in about half an hour.

I hope it’s as promising as the trailer made it look.

The new Conjuring movie made almost $200 million in its opening weekend, which makes it the largest opening for an R rated horror movie, beating out It Chapter One. This also pushed Warner Brothers into a record breaking 7 releases in a row to bring in over $40 million OW. It’s also the big conclusion to the Summer of Horror, which saw several massive hits (for horror movies), such as Sinners, Final Destination Bloodlines, 28 Years Later, and Weapons.


I think it’s biggest competition for this upcoming weekend is One Battle After Another, which is getting dynamite reviews and film-circle praise but seems poised to flop with general audiences.

I see marketing for One Battle After Another but have no idea what it is about.

I also heard good buzz about Caught Stealing, but that is out now I think.

I can’t remember seeing any trailers for Caught Stealing. I hear it’s good, but the moviegoing part of my brain has memory holed it.

OBAA’s advertising strategy is baffling to me. It just makes the film look more opaque every time they cut a new trailer. It’s an action movie where Leo wants his daughter back. It’s a stoner comedy where Dude Leo is too fried to do basic spy gak. It’s a quirky indie-comedy where Leo acts all quirky and calls your favorite character actors “sensei” to be quirky. It’s a literary achievement where Leo expresses the depth of the human soul in desperation. It’s a political commentary movie where Leo the revolutionary Everyman is an idiot.


I have no idea what to expect from the movie or why I should see it, other than the absurdly high critical rating, the dangerously-close-to Oscar-bait circlejerk critical rating.

Speaking of new movies, anyone else hear about Brad Pitt (but not Leo DiCaprio) being in the sequel to Tarintino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ?

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Speaking of new movies, anyone else hear about Brad Pitt (but not Leo DiCaprio) being in the sequel to Tarintino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ?

Heard that it was being kicked about but don't know what kind of money it has made at the box office yet.

Well, I heard it was a Cliff Prequel, so probably his time before he met Leo's character?

I hope everyone is preparing their bomb or flop puns for The Smashing Machine and the Rock, because you’re going to need them.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I hope everyone is preparing their bomb or flop puns for The Smashing Machine and the Rock, because you’re going to need them.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this film gets nominated for an award this year.