Box Office Analysis: 'X-Men: Apocalypse' and Johnny Depp's 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' Flop
If the first month of the summer is any indication, Hollywood looks to be in for a tumultuous season. After a successful spring, it all looked like the summer would be exciting and filled with box office hits. However, four weeks in and there have been flops all over.
Box Office Flops
This weekend "X-Men: Apocalypse" suffered one of the worst openings for an "X-Men" film and showcased how reviews can affect a film. The movie opened to a disastrous $65 million after most prognosticated it to open with $100 million. The opening is not the worst for a series film but it is not good in comparison to other sequels in the series.
The opening is a sign that audiences may be getting tired of sequels and superhero films. After all, "Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice" did not make what most box office analysts expected from such a huge blockbuster. This is due to reviews and the way audiences perceive these films.
If you look at "Deadpool" and "Captain America: Civil War" both films did outstanding as reviews were terrific and even outpaced expectations.
Johnny Depp
Disney's recent "Alice Through the Looking Glass" opened to a horrendous $28 million. The sum is far worse than the first "Alice in Wonderland" which opened with $116 million in March of 2010. The latest film opened to terrible reviews and did not get as much of a boost from Disney. It also did not help that Johnny Depp has been getting hit with bad press for his recent divorce with his wife Amber Heard.
But analysts never expected the film to open as high as the original film. "Alice Through the Looking Glass" marks the first live action Disney film to flop and also marks the worst reviewed of the films.
It also marks the latest Depp film to plunder at the box office. The actor has been going through a rough patch with such films as "Dark Shadows," "Mortdecai," "The Lone Ranger" and even "Black Mass" for which he scored rave reviews and scored multiple awards. This may be a sign that Depp cannot really sell a movie anymore and it may also put into question whether or not Disney will want to spend on another one of his tent poles in the future.
Other Films
But these are not the only films to underperform this month. "Angry Birds" had a mediocre start and it doesn't look like the film will pull in the numbers worthy for a sequel. Meanwhile "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising" won't even get close to breaking the $60 million mark.
Finally the well-received "The Nice Guys" failed to conquer as enthusiasm was low and showed once again the lack of box office pull Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe have. Even George Clooney and Julia Roberts couldn't win audiences with their drama "Monster Money."
With such a terrible start, it is perhaps time for studios to find a new strategy for the next two months, which could see yet another disappointing summer.
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