WB's BLUE BEETLE movie starring Xolo Mariduena (2023) 3 3

[D84]

On 8/20/2023 at 7:15 PM, Gatsby77 said:

No.

I'm saying the usual rules don't apply since this was originally slated to go to HBO Max.

So the only numbers that actually count against break-even are the theatrical marketing ones.

They were going to spend $125 million anyway - just to put it on Max.

But they released it in theaters, so it still needs to make back its budget as well.

They can use whatever deceptive accounting they want. If more money is spent on the movie than is made back, it's a loss.

Edited August 21, 2023 by D84

[kimik]

On 8/20/2023 at 6:21 PM, MattTheDuck said:

If you're "giving away tickets" you kind of undercut the idea that something's popular.  Looking at you, WWC '23.

Why? This move is no different than African American organizations doing the same for the first Black Panther movie. If the Latin American organizations need to buy more to give away then there must be some demand for them.

[Bosco685]

On 8/21/2023 at 2:35 AM, kimik said:

Why? This move is no different than African American organizations doing the same for the first Black Panther movie. If the Latin American organizations need to buy more to give away then there must be some demand for them.

I thought it was a misinformed point too.

If an organization bought the tickets to give away so as to encourage members of its community to attend and spread the word about it, the tickets were still paid for. The studio didn't give them away.

Very relevant point about Black Panther and how schools and church groups did this for underprivileged kids to see the film.

 

[drotto]

On 8/21/2023 at 4:54 AM, Bosco685 said:

I thought it was a misinformed point too.

If an organization bought the tickets to give away so as to encourage members of its community to attend and spread the word about it, the tickets were still paid for. The studio didn't give them away.

Very relevant point about Black Panther and how schools and church groups did this for underprivileged kids to see the film.

 

Also, it shows that the African American community rallied behind Black Panther. With that community being around 13% of the US population, they did a remarkable job getting people out to see the film.  With the domestic box office,  most saw it and many saw it multiple times.  

 

The Hispanic community is roughly the same size in the US as the African American one, and is generally over represented in racial breakdowns for movie viewer demographics. They often make up 25% to 30% at least with most superhero films. But based on the numbers, they are not showing up for this film, the same way African Americans did for BP. Yes the percentage of Hispanic is high, but is that due to normal habits, or other groups not showing up at all?  So the question then becomes why?

[Gatsby77]

On 8/21/2023 at 8:59 AM, drotto said:

Also, it shows that the African American community rallied behind Black Panther. With that community being around 13% of the US population, they did a remarkable job getting people out to see the film.  With the domestic box office,  most saw it and many saw it multiple times.  

 

The Hispanic community is roughly the same size in the US as the African American one, and is generally over represented in racial breakdowns for movie viewer demographics. They often make up 25% to 30% at least with most superhero films. But based on the numbers, they are not showing up for this film, the same way African Americans did for BP. Yes the percentage of Hispanic is high, but is that due to normal habits, or other groups not showing up at all?  So the question then becomes why?

Hispanics account for ~19% of the U.S. population - a much higher % than that of African Americans.

[paperheart]

How about: no one cares about the remnants of the DCEU? This before $300M+(?) of P&A that will never will be fully recouped with ancillaries given the theatrical BO flops. *-estimate

	Prod. Budget	US BO	China BO	ROW BO	BO to WB	Theatrical P&L
Batgirl	$    (80,000,000)	$                          -	$                       -	$                          -	$                          -	$     (80,000,000)
Shazam: FOG	$ (125,000,000)	$        58,000,000	$        6,000,000	$        70,000,000	$        61,400,000	$     (63,600,000)
Flash	$ (220,000,000)	$      108,000,000	$      26,000,000	$      135,000,000	$      119,900,000	$   (100,100,000)
*Blue Beetle	$ (120,000,000)	$        63,000,000	$                       -	$        62,000,000	$        59,450,000	$     (60,550,000)
	$ (545,000,000)	$      229,000,000	$      32,000,000	$      267,000,000	$      240,750,000	$   (304,250,000)

[D84]

With the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, haven't all comic book movies flopped this year? We still have The Marvels and Aquaman 2, but I doubt either will do any better.

Considering the biggest money makers this year are Barbie and Super Mario Bros, it can be taken that general audiences are moving away from super heroes.

Maybe it's the quality of the movies, maybe it's super hero fatigue, but I don't know what (if anything) will turn this around.

[Wall-Crawler]

On 8/21/2023 at 10:03 AM, Gatsby77 said:

Hispanics account for ~19% of the U.S. population - a much higher % than that of African Americans.

BP was also significantly different film as well, it was not just about the character of Black Panther, but it was also about showcasing an entire African civilization (with advanced technology) being portrayed, not just another youth (who happens to be Hispanic) getting super powers. The origin, story, marketing, etc., all completely different.

At end of day for Blue Beetle, does race have anything to do with it? Or was it just another average super hero entry that just failed to grab the general public's attention in the shadow of the former DC movie-verse?

[MattTheDuck]

On 8/20/2023 at 11:35 PM, kimik said:

Why? This move is no different than African American organizations doing the same for the first Black Panther movie. If the Latin American organizations need to buy more to give away then there must be some demand for them.

My bad - the original post didn't indicate they were purchased and then given away.  While there's no reason to believe they weren't donated by the studio, it's not important enough to research.

[Bosco685]

On 8/21/2023 at 11:08 AM, D84 said:

With the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, haven't all comic book movies flopped this year? We still have The Marvels and Aquaman 2, but I doubt either will do any better.

Considering the biggest money makers this year are Barbie and Super Mario Bros, it can be taken that general audiences are moving away from super heroes.

Maybe it's the quality of the movies, maybe it's super hero fatigue, but I don't know what (if anything) will turn this around.

Other than the one that did over 6.9X production budget, topping GotG Vol. 3's results. And even beating it at the Domestic Box Office.

[Gatsby77]

On 8/21/2023 at 11:09 AM, Wall-Crawler said:

At end of day for Blue Beetle, does race have anything to do with it? Or was it just another average super hero entry that just failed to grab the general public's attention in the shadow of the former DC movie-verse?

This.

I think representation matters - and is important - but story matters more.

And hopefully there will be a time in the not-too-distant future where Hispanic representation will be so commonplace that it will hardly be mentioned.

Example: One of the *many* reasons I loved Succession is Kendall's hedge fund college buddy Stewie - who is gay.

We don't find out he's gay until his 4th or 5th appearance - when he and Kendall are talking business at a nightclub while his (male) date is sitting beside him.

And then I don't think it's ever mentioned again until either the last or second-to-last episode of Season 4.

A generation ago it would have been a big deal for even such a supporting character to be gay. And HBO would have milked it in their advertising.

Today - I'm sure there are plenty of people who watched Succession and didn't realize Stewie was gay.

Because it was like 6th or 7th on the list of his most important characteristics and importance to the story.

[D84]

On 8/21/2023 at 10:42 AM, Bosco685 said:

Other than the one that did over 6.9X production budget, topping GotG Vol. 3's results. And even beating it at the Domestic Box Office.

Fair enough. Honestly, I forgot it came out.

But the the live action stuff is still not doing well and with current trends, DC/Marvel Cinematic Universe films are looking bad.

[Bosco685]

On 8/21/2023 at 12:34 PM, D84 said:

Fair enough. Honestly, I forgot it came out.

But the the live action stuff is still not doing well and with current trends, DC/Marvel Cinematic Universe films are looking bad.

For sure!

2023 is really driving home the point if you want a winning franchise, individual film story comes first above telling an effective story later on when 4-5 other films build it out for you.

[ExNihilo]

On 8/21/2023 at 5:59 AM, drotto said:

Also, it shows that the African American community rallied behind Black Panther. With that community being around 13% of the US population, they did a remarkable job getting people out to see the film.  With the domestic box office,  most saw it and many saw it multiple times.  

 

The Hispanic community is roughly the same size in the US as the African American one, and is generally over represented in racial breakdowns for movie viewer demographics. They often make up 25% to 30% at least with most superhero films. But based on the numbers, they are not showing up for this film, the same way African Americans did for BP. Yes the percentage of Hispanic is high, but is that due to normal habits, or other groups not showing up at all?  So the question then becomes why?

My take is that Black Panther's marketing showed it off as more inclusive of African culture and that played a part in why it was popular amongst the African American community.  From what I've seen of Blue Beetle's marketing, they don't lean into Hispanic culture the same way.  As such, there's not as much of that excitement to see it from the target community because it's not highlighting cultural backgrounds, as much as it just appears to be marketed as a generic superhero film that happens to feature Hispanic actors.  I haven't seen it, so I can only say what I see based on trailers/promos.  Maybe there's a lot of stuff in the movie and there will be strong word of mouth.  I'm not taking any guesses on that.

[Artboy99]

On 8/21/2023 at 10:29 AM, Gatsby77 said:

This.

I think representation matters - and is important - but story matters more.

And hopefully there will be a time in the not-too-distant future where Hispanic representation will be so commonplace that it will hardly be mentioned.

Example: One of the *many* reasons I loved Succession is Kendall's hedge fund college buddy Stewie - who is gay.

We don't find out he's gay until his 4th or 5th appearance - when he and Kendall are talking business at a nightclub while his (male) date is sitting beside him.

And then I don't think it's ever mentioned again until either the last or second-to-last episode of Season 4.

A generation ago it would have been a big deal for even such a supporting character to be gay. And HBO would have milked it in their advertising.

Today - I'm sure there are plenty of people who watched Succession and didn't realize Stewie was gay.

Because it was like 6th or 7th on the list of his most important characteristics and importance to the story.

How it is done when done well

Edited August 22, 2023 by Artboy99

[Artboy99]

so I saw Blue Beetle, I fell asleep before he obtained the scarab. I awoke from my slumber and saw I had missed a bit because he had the scarab at that point but as I really had no idea what was going on I tried to just enjoy it. Overall it was "just there" for me, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone nor do I have any desire to watch it again.

If the film is very good:

1. I don't fall asleep viewing it

2. I have an interest in viewing it again and often can watch the film multiple times.

Blue Beetle is one -and-done

Edited August 22, 2023 by Artboy99

[kmfbaloo]

I was at a panel with the composer for the film - regardless of how the movie will be, the music was badass

[kmfbaloo]

On 8/21/2023 at 9:34 AM, D84 said:

Fair enough. Honestly, I forgot it came out.

But the the live action stuff is still not doing well and with current trends, DC/Marvel Cinematic Universe films are looking bad.

I didn't realize its out either. I thought it was later this month

[kmfbaloo]

On 8/21/2023 at 8:08 AM, D84 said:

With the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, haven't all comic book movies flopped this year? We still have The Marvels and Aquaman 2, but I doubt either will do any better.

Considering the biggest money makers this year are Barbie and Super Mario Bros, it can be taken that general audiences are moving away from super heroes.

Maybe it's the quality of the movies, maybe it's super hero fatigue, but I don't know what (if anything) will turn this around.

Hero fatigue for sure. Probably Gunn's Superman will bring it back

[mr_highgrade]

Saw it a couple of days ago with kids and we really enjoyed it. It was a fun movie.