AQUAMAN 2 directed by James Wan (12/16/22) 6 6

[Bosco685]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:03 AM, namisgr said:

With a $47 million opening, it had a lot more business than this clunker.  But ultimately, they're both bombs.

My family saw Wonka yesterday.  It was a fun film.

What do you see as the differences? Other than:

• The Marvels is the 33rd film in a massively connected franchise. So it had all that going for it to drive continued success.

• It also had all the streaming shows to further drive home the breadth and depth of its massively connected universe - including the additional two leads.

 

What do you think the two had in common making Aquaman 2 the more logical 'clunker'? Other than the co-CEOs dismissing all the remaining DCEU films as not relevant to their go-forward DCU, putting a further nail in the coffin. As it would appear The Marvels had much more going for it in the way of potential success.

[namisgr]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:30 AM, Bosco685 said:

What do you think the two had in common making Aquaman 2 the more logical 'clunker'? Other than the co-CEOs dismissing all the remaining DCEU films as not relevant to their go-forward DCU, putting a further nail in the coffin. As it would appear The Marvels had much more going for it in the way of potential success.

I don't know, and never wrote such a thing.

[Bosco685]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:31 AM, namisgr said:

I don't know, and never wrote such a thing.

You actually did imply this.

On 12/26/2023 at 8:03 AM, namisgr said:

With a $47 million opening, it had a lot more business than this clunker.  But ultimately, they're both bombs.

My family saw Wonka yesterday.  It was a fun film.

The Marvels had all that legacy to support its potential success. While Aquaman 2 had all that changing of the WB Studios leadership also leading to differing priorities each time. And now being dismissed by its co-CEO as not relevant. And Lord knows behind the scenes what lack of support it received, as Ben Affleck's Batman was to appear in this one as well which was then yanked out to make it clear there was no further DCEU stories to be told.

There are those differences.

[namisgr]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:35 AM, Bosco685 said:

You actually did imply this.

I didn't imply anything, wrote nothing about 'a more logical clunker', and explicitly stated that both movies were bombs. What I distinguished in an earlier post is that only one was subjected to a specific type of Forum sturm und drang.

Edited December 26, 2023 by namisgr

[Bosco685]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:38 AM, namisgr said:

I didn't imply anything, and explicitly wrote that both movies were bombs. 

You did. But that's okay. It's your opinion.

Meanwhile, one had so many reasons to succeed with the very same leadership and legacy to drive home its potential to excel, and the other had so much to undermine the solid creative leadership of James Wan as he worked to comply with new mandates and creative directions. Unfortunately, that has been a pattern with WB Studios with many of these films. Hats off to Marvel Studios for at least working to believe in its own properites.

[namisgr]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:40 AM, Bosco685 said:

You did. But that's okay. It's your opinion.

It's not an opinion to state what I did, that both movies were bombs, or that The Marvels had a bigger opening weekend than Aquaman 2.

[Bosco685]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:42 AM, namisgr said:

It's not an opinion to state what I did, that both movies were bombs, or that The Marvels had a bigger opening weekend than Aquaman 2.

Uh-huh. What you are avoiding noting is with MCU films traditionally it is common for a large opening leading to people proclaiming how 'critic-proof' it was no matter the reviews. So no surprise there.

What else?

[Bosco685]

On 12/26/2023 at 7:51 AM, namisgr said:

While that is true, there was much more to it than that, as the discussion thread on that movie and this one have made plain.

These are really the points that would be more helpful to the conversaton. What are you assuming?

[Gatsby77]

Einstein once said, "If you can't explain a thing simply, you don't understand it well enough."

I'd submit if you need to spill mountains of ink to make your point - and account for nearly 30% of the posts in a given thread, you may be overdoing it a bit.

• Aquaman 2's opening weekend was 40% below that of The Marvels.
• Its Rotten Tomatoes critical score is also 40% below that of The Marvels.

Therefore...

[Bosco685]

On 12/26/2023 at 9:01 AM, Gatsby77 said:

Einstein once said, "If you can't explain a thing simply, you don't understand it well enough."

I'd submit if you need to spill mountains of ink to make your point - and account for nearly 30% of the posts in a given thread, you may be overdoing it a bit.

• Aquaman 2's opening weekend was 40% below that of The Marvels.
• Its Rotten Tomatoes critical score is also 40% below that of The Marvels.

Therefore...

'Occam's Razor' is going to come up soon. I just count on it. Meanwhile, normally you spend paragraphs explaining why the MCU does it better than the DCEU. Good to see that mindset changed.

Meanwhile, you and others have always noted how MCU films are front-loaded at the box office. Which common start off very strong, with WOM marketing and traditional expectations leading to continued growth. What happened with The Marvels (the 33rd MCU film that should have continued this tradition)? And please - limit the mountains of ink.

[namisgr]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:59 AM, Bosco685 said:

These are really the points that would be more helpful to the conversaton. What are you assuming?

Nothing.

[Bosco685]

On 12/26/2023 at 9:14 AM, namisgr said:

Nothing.

Good to know. Though you implied otherwise in pointing back to The Marvels thread.

[namisgr]

Seeing the differences in Forum reactions to and discussions about the two films is an observation, and not an implication.

Having tired of being browbeaten, ciao.

[Bosco685]

Shame. Someone seemed to have some points to share. Guess not.

[Bosco685]

Quote

Elsewhere “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” brought in $10.5 million from 3,706 venues on Monday. The comic book sequel, starring Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantis, opened with a lower-than-expected $38 million through the four-day holiday frame. With its $205 million price tag, “Aquaman 2” is shaping up to be the latest underperforming tentpole for Warner Bros. and DC following this year’s string of misfires — “The Flash,” “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “Blue Beetle.”

 

[paperheart]

and the DCEU ends not with a bang but a whimper

*Aquaman 2 estimates

 

[ChillMan]

On 12/25/2023 at 4:11 AM, Bosco685 said:

I would read the rest of what I posted. It may help.

Preferring Marvel...isn't an acceptable answer either.

I won't mention CGC again...if...you at least post a reply that doesn't say I'm wrong.  About the media (and I mean all of them) absolutely despising & burying Aquaman 2.

[ChillMan]

On 12/26/2023 at 5:28 AM, namisgr said:

Aquaman 2 is deserving of all the love that the Forum showed The Marvels before it.  But I'm not yet seeing the same sociological breakdown.  

You don't see the difference in the media??

Or see the difference in the director & 3 leads??

Edited December 26, 2023 by ChillMan

[drotto]

On 12/26/2023 at 1:36 PM, ChillMan said:

You don't see the difference in the media??  LOL

Yes, there is a difference.  The media seemes much more interest in promoting, protecting, and deflecting criticism of the Marvels.  With that said, how much of that is that Aquaman 2 has had a full year of negative press, and the performance is just seen as inevitable, so they have no need or desire to defend it.  In addition DCEU to a large extent has already been written off as a failure.  They are just now coming to terms with the decline in the MCU, which was a media darling.

[ChillMan]

On 12/26/2023 at 1:43 PM, drotto said:

Yes, there is a difference.  The media seemes much more interest in promoting, protecting, and deflecting criticism of the Marvels.  With that said, how much of that is that Aquaman 2 has had a full year of negative press, and the performance is just seen as inevitable, so they have no need or desire to defend it.  In addition DCEU to a large extent has already been written off as a failure.  They are just now coming to terms with the decline in the MCU, which was a media darling.

Yeah.  The year of media trashing of Aquaman 2 was a first.  It's like they laid down the law...a stand.  If anyone dared to promote it...they'd be smeared very badly.  Probably with a court accusation dug up from somewhere.  It was seriously that bad.  The media is not happy about all their favorites failing.