gilraen wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 1:38 pm
I think the more significant thought here is that if Disney is really screwing over one of their biggest stars, there are probably also screwing over other people who were involved with the movie, who don't have the clout or resources to pursue legal action.
Or whose characters aren't effectively retired. Scarlett has nothing to lose. Her Marvel stint is done, and her career is solid enough that she can afford to bite one of the hands feeding her.
That puts her in a unique position to speak out in a way that other stars can't.
hepcat wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:14 am
I know it’s horrible and unfair of me, but when I see a major star and a big studio fighting over millions of dollars, I tend to tune out.
Same but I don't feel that it is horrible to tune out.
While I'm on Scarlett's side in general and I always think she deserves more money/compensation, I think the ironic/interesting thing that both she and Disney are avoiding saying is that the main reason the movie didn't do as well as the other MCU movies is because it was the first misstep/mistake they've made. It's a good/fun movie that is largely irrelevant in the scheme of the greater Marvel universe.
When even each TV series is giving major updates to the universe, a "big screen" movie set in the past about a character that's already DEAD, with a mediocre end reveal, is just not thrilling. Even without Covid, I'm not 100% sure I would have gone to the theaters to see it. Now if they had done something like resurrecting her character as part of the new Multiverse storylines like I had hoped, that would have been a different story - none of this would be happening because fanboys would be hyped like crazy and people on the fence like me would have rushed to the theater to see the reveal. Instead we got the tepid intro of a secondary character (the sister), who as much I liked, does not seem like will be much of a major player in the upcoming Phases. Compared to any of the 3 TV series, it was a dud. This is not to say I judge the movies only on their overall affect on the MCU, but in a series that has always been at least partially about building momentum, this was like a big slam on the brakes.
Again, I feel bad that it sounds like I am crapping on the movie, because I genuinely enjoyed it as a stand-alone movie... but it's the first Marvel movie I had almost no desire to see in the theater (except for the off chance she might be brought back), and definitely the first I had no immediate desire to re-watch. Watching them bicker about the money is kind of funny to me since it probably made about as much as it should, if not more, because it's plausible many extra people paid to watch it at home (who normally would have waited until cable/free).
rittchard wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:56 pm
While I'm on Scarlett's side in general and I always think she deserves more money/compensation, I think the ironic/interesting thing that both she and Disney are avoiding saying is that the main reason the movie didn't do as well as the other MCU movies is because it was the first misstep/mistake they've made.
...
I think that's a false assumption. The movie is at $344M box office so far, plus Disney Plus dollars (which were at $60M on 7/12). It's already ahead of The Incredible Hulk, the original Captain America, Ant-Man, and Thor on the domestic side (if you add a bit of Disney+ onto the domestic box office).
It's not going to come close to the big hitters of the MCU in terms of box office revenue, largely because nothing released during this pandemic is going to do so. There were 9 movies with over $1B box office in 2019. In 2021 so far, there are zero.
I didn't look to see where it fits in the domestic but I'm pretty sure it's one of the absolute worst, especially from a relative sense (comparing to the last few years or so). Again, my point was just that from a momentum standpoint for the MCU, it was a big step backwards, where the entire series, particularly in Phase 3 (and now 4), has been about keeping audiences propelled forward in a comic-book kind of way.
I didn't look to see where it fits in the domestic but I'm pretty sure it's one of the absolute worst, especially from a relative sense (comparing to the last 5 years or so).
That's correct--worldwide. The comparisons I made to other MCU movies were domestic-to-domestic. It is not the absolute worst, but has beaten Cap 1, Ant-Man, and Thor1. Again, not great, but we're in a pandemic and as I mentioned the whole market is way down.
Me and two buddies watched this (at home) today. I for one love the ability to watch these movies at home and wish (in vain) that we can keep this sort of watch at home model even if it does mean I spend more personally to watch it (as I did today) than I would at a theater just buying one ticket for myself. (Or the HBO Max model where I pay nothing!) My home audio provides plenty of rumble and surround sound and frankly I think my OLED picture is better than any I have seen in a theater albeit smaller. Just the ability to pause and take a bathroom break makes this about a billion times better for me and my friends.
(Spoilers for Avengers Endgame - seriously you shouldn't be in this thread if you haven't seen it....)
Anyway, my friends and I liked the movie a lot. But, we agreed that it really lost something for it to be released after they killed her off. This just made none of the stakes particularly high. I mean it's obvious that the hero isn't going to die in their standalone movies (unless someone finally does) but the movie definitely loses something when you know for a fact the character can't die. I just don't get why they wouldn't have made this movie and released it before Endgame. But whatever. David Harbour was predictably hilarious and awesome. I assume the sister (who was great) will be in future MCU movies.
Thumbs up!!
It was your bog standard sort of MCU movie (this sounds like an insult but it isn't). Great action, production values, funny lines, etc. That means it's a very high quality "super"hero movie. I doubt it will be the favorite MCU movie of many (or maybe even any). Equally I doubt it will be many or anyone's least favorite. Still highly entertaining and recommended.
Black Lives Matter
"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: they don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views." - The 4th Doctor
rittchard wrote:While I'm on Scarlett's side in general and I always think she deserves more money/compensation, I think the ironic/interesting thing that both she and Disney are avoiding saying is that the main reason the movie didn't do as well as the other MCU movies is because it was the first misstep/mistake they've made. It's a good/fun movie that is largely irrelevant in the scheme of the greater Marvel universe.
The main reason this movie didn’t pull in big numbers is because of COVID.
Yes, you’re largely right that they screwed up by not releasing a solo Black Widow movie earlier. But there’s no real doubt that it would have been a huge hit had COVID not been a thing. Would it have made a billion like the biggest MCU films? Probably not. Only a handful (four?) of solo films have made a billion, and one of those was Civil War which is essentially an Avengers movie. But it would have been a lock for at least $600mil and probably much more than that.
We’ll see with Shang Chi what a Marvel movie can expect to make in the COVID era. That is expected to be a box office exclusive (although I guess that could change if delta continues to get worse).
Jaymann wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:55 pm
Sorry to say the movie wasn't that great. 80% talking, and the action wasn't much better.
This. Finally watched it tonight. Pissed I wasted a chunk of my only free time. Of course, not as pissed as I would be if I had spent $30 for the "pleasure".
I enjoyed Black Widow, but it was silly for it to come out after Endgame. It undermined the whole movie.
Black Lives Matter
"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: they don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views." - The 4th Doctor
I liked this more than I thought I would. It feels like not a lot goes on despite the 2h15m runtime. But I was really engaged during the last act despite how predictable it was. I find the structure of a lot of Marvel movies to be stale, so I'm astonished that a fairly straightforward one feels so fresh.
I love David Harbour in this and anything else, but he sure can't hold an accent.
I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
