Some US critics branded Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot as the worst movie ever made based on a Marvel comic.
Judging by the opening weekend figures here and in the US, cinemagoers may well have suspected it’s a stinker and simply stayed away.
The caper about four young science nerds who are turned into superheroes in order to take down the global threat of a Dr. Doom rang up an uninspiring $2.6 million in Australia plus $100K in previews.
That ranked third behind Trainwreck and the second weekend of Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, while Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin bowed impressively in fourth spot (see separate story).
In the US, pundits had predicted the action-adventure directed by Chronicle's Josh Trank, starring Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Tim Blake Nelson and Toby Kebbell, would open with upwards of $US40 million.
That turns out to be way too optimistic as the 3-day figure was $25.6 million, marking the second lowest opening for a Marvel comic-based film behind Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’s $22.1 million in 2012, a lousy return on the $120 million production budget.
As Rope of Silicon's Brad Brevet put it, “Audiences definitely sniffed this latest version out early and collectively said, 'Nope!'"
Fox had pencilled in a June 9 2017 release date for Fantastic Four 2 but that now seem highly doubtful.
In Oz, Universal’s Trainwreck rang up a hearty $3.2 million after earning $3 million in two weekends of sneaks, bringing the total to $6.2 million. The raunchy comedy written by and starring Amy Schumer could be headed for $15 million.
The fifth edition of Paramount’s M: I franchise advanced to $9.3 million after pocketing $2.6 million, tumbling by 47 per cent.
Disney’s Ant-Man reached $14 million but is running out of puff, dropping by 48 per cent to $906,000 in its fourth frame.
Madman Entertainment’s Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, the 20th film in the Dragon Ball anime franchise, grabbed a terrific $838,000 on just 61 screens.
The comedy/action/adventure featuring the return of the villainous Frieza, who plots his revenge against the Z fighters of Earth, scored $5.58 million in the US and $51.6 million internationally, including the biggest opening of the year in Japan.