Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix.’
After 12 films in 20 years including sequels, prequels and spin-offs, the final edition of Fox’s X-Men franchise is a global disaster.
The Simon Kinberg-directed X—Men: Dark Phoenix posted the lowest debut ever for the series in the US and Australia, in the latter entering in third spot behind Aladdin’s triumphant third weekend and Rocketman’s second.
Meanwhile Damon Gameau’s 2040 climbed to $780,000 after making $139,000 from Thursday-Monday on 86 screens in its third weekend for Madman Entertainment, easing by just 17 per cent. Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding reached $4.9 million after taking $115,00 in its sixth for Universal.
In the US pundits questioned the wisdom of entrusting the $200 million X-Men finale to a first-time director (albeit an experienced screenwriter and producer) and said the marketing campaign suffered in the handover from Fox to Disney. Apart from the rotten reviews, the fundamental problem seemed to be: This movie had no reason to exist except to make money.
Here, the superhero movie starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp and Jessica Chastain drummed up $2.7 million in four days and $3.2 million including Monday.
“It is hard to tell whether bad reviews determined the opening for Dark Phoenix (sometimes these films are review proof) or whether audiences sensed the film wasn’t a great addition to the franchise,” Wallis Cinemas programming manager Sasha Close tells IF.
The three-day US debut was a dismal $32.8 million while the rest of the world delivered $107 million, which was flattered by China’s $46.5 million.
Disney reported Dark Phoenix’s first weekend overall at today’s exchange rates trailed the openings of X-Men: Apocalypse and X-Men: Days of Future Past by 27 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
Deadline.com predicted a final global total of $300 million-$325 million, which would translate to a loss of $100 million-$120 million.
The top 20 titles in Oz rang up $20.6 million over five days, according to Numero, 2 per cent up on the previous frame.
Disney’s Aladdin conjured up $6.1 million, propelling the total to $23.3 million. The Guy Ritchie-directed musical fantasy starring Will Smith, Mena Masoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari and Navid Negahban has amassed $232.4 million in the US and $372.5 million internationally for a global cume of $604.9 million.
Paramount’s Rocketman whistled up $4.2 million, lifting the total to $11.3 million. Pro-rata, the Elton John biopic directed by Dexter Fletcher is outshining the US’s $50.3 million as Australia ranks as the second biggest international market behind the UK’s $20.5 million.
Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters lumbered along to $4.9 million after scoring $1.6 million in its second weekend, with no hope of catching Godzilla’s $10.7 million and Kong: Skull Island’s $13.2 million. Michael Dougherty’s action adventure has mustered a mediocre $78.5 million in the US and a more respectable $216 million in the rest of the world.
Studiocanal’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum ascended to $12.8 million after minting $1.4 million in its fourth. Directed by Chad Stahelski, the thriller has bagged $138.6 million in the US and $113.6 million in the rest of the world.
Legendary Entertainment/Warner Bros’ live action-hybrid Pokémon Detective Pikachu reached $13.8 million after collecting $689,000 in its fifth. The Rob Letterman-directed fantasy/mystery has generated $411.3 million globally.
Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame raked in $636,000 in its seventh, hoisting the total to $82.9 million – a fabulous result but it won’t match Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ $94 million. The superhero action adventure directed by the Russo brothers has amassed $2.730 billion worldwide, trailing Avatar’s $2.788 billion.
Transmission launched Trevor Nunn’s Red Joan, the drama based on the true story of the retired physicist who was in her 80s when she was arrested and charged with being a Russian spy in WW2, on 132 screens, ringing up $560,000 and $822,000 including previews.
That’s a decent start considering the film starring Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore and Tom Hughes earned about £2.5 million ($4.5 million) in the UK.
“Red Joan again reinforces Judi Dench’s movie star status among Australian moviegoers,” observes Cinema Nova general manager Kristian Connelly, who was pleased with the holds for 2040 and Top End Wedding. He expects both to make more than $100,000 at his Carlton location.
Bollywood drama Bharat, the saga of an 8-year-old boy who makes a vow to his father that he will keep his family together no matter what over the next 60 years, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, generated a splendid $656,000 on 71 screens, including previews, for Forum Films.
Chris Addison’s comedy The Hustle advanced to $6.6 million after making $196,000 in its fifth for Universal, much better than the US’s $34.4 million.
Alessandro Genovesi’s romantic comedy My Big Gay Italian Wedding, which follows a young man as he travels to his conservative Italian hometown to get married, fetched $73,000 in its debut on 17 screens and $207,000 including festival screenings for Palace.