Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘Fast X’s Box Office Projections Hinting at a Strong International Bow

    ‘Fast X’s Box Office Projections Hinting at a Strong International Bow

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has given Marvel Studios one of its best second weekends in a long-time, hoping to secure a bit more positive momentum for the franchise moving forward after bigger drops throughout the last year. Its first real competition is about to arrive with Fast X, the latest entry in the Fast & Furious franchise. While some have been praising it online, Fast X has opened to a soft 60% reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from critics.

    With a soft start critically, it seems that projections for its box office opening are a bit mellow going in, at least domestically. Projects have the film opening around $65M, which is quite a bit lower than what you’d expect from the tenth entry of a major film franchise. It would place it slightly lower than F9: The Fast Saga which opened to $70M during the pandemic back in 2021.

    Though, these films have a knack for massive international appeal. Current projects say that domestically it may only be around $60M but international release might go haywire at $235M. As such, it would be the third-best global release for the franchise. That also would put the film in similar shoes like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Twilight Saga: New Moon’s openings.

    What is pushing the film is opening in 81 markets including the always highly coveted China release While the market has been unreliable for Western releases, it still surprised many in how it’s currently pushing Guardians 3’s box office, which is still set to make around $33M if it keeps up the strong word-of-mouth. There’s a chance that it might also still keep some of its audience and keep Fast X at bay, but the weekend will tell.

    Source: Box Office Pro, Deadline, Rotten Tomatoes

  • New Set Video Offers First Glimpse at Stitch’s Design in Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’

    New Set Video Offers First Glimpse at Stitch’s Design in Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’

    Ever since director Dean Fleischer Camp joined the production of a live-action Lilo & Stitch film, it seems like production has kickstarted into overdrive. Not too long after the first castings came out, production already started and now we seemingly have our first set video find its way online. While we don’t get a look at the cast, there’s one familiar face involved.

    In the video shared by @reelnewshawaii, they are seemingly filming a beach sequence. A group is driving out with a camera, but what stands out is what one of them has in their hand. If you look closely, it seems like they are working with the stand-in for Stitch going by the body shape and ears.

    While we don’t get a close-up shot of the stand-in, it does seem pretty close to what we got from the character in the original animated feature. So, it seems like they will be sticking to that original design quite closely rather than making any major changes to what he looked like.

    Of course, the stand-in doesn’t necessitate that they’ll truly stick to the design, but they might go down the route of Pinocchio, which had the exact same design but mostly adapted his design from the original animated film but with more added texture. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see what he’ll look like once they start promoting the film.

    Source: Twitter

  • Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Cast Continues to Grow

    Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Cast Continues to Grow

    Is it perfect timing ahead of Netflix’s first attendance at the Upfronts that a variety of actresses and actors are revealing their involvement with Netflix’s live-action One Piece series? Probably not, but it’s a fun coincidence either way as a variety of new cast members have been unveiled.

    Once again, @OP_Netflix_Fan and the @OPLAfandom, whose discord you can check out by clicking here, have uncovered a slew of talent revealing their involvement with the upcoming series. Interestingly enough, while these are mainly supporting cast, there are some rather important cast members included.

    Let’s kick it off with the two biggest flashback characters. Mackenyu Arata’s younger self will seemingly be played by Maximilian Lee Piazza. He’ll take on the role of Zoro during the iconic flashback from the East Blue saga. It was rumored for quite some time since September of 2022, but it’s great to have a confirmation now. He’ll be joined by Audrey Cymone, who will take on the role of Kuina, Zoro’s childhood friend.

    We also seemingly have a casting for the role of Ririka, who is the mother of Rika and is set to be played by Nicole Fortuin. While she doesn’t have a major role in the story, she does appear in Zoro’s introduction arc in Shells Town. Yet, that is not all, as we also finally know who is the other half of the Nyaban Brothers (or Siblings rather) Albert Pretorius will take on the role of Buchi and star opposite Bianca Oosthuizen, who will play Sham.

    It’s great to get some more announcements and here’s hoping that the timing for them adding to the CV might have some meaning. We’ve been anxiously waiting for any details we can get our hands on nowadays, as the show’s release seems closer and closer with every day. While we don’t know if something will drop during the Upfronts, the hope is definitely alive going in and beyond.

    Source: Twitter, Instagram, APM (Ririka), APM (Buchi)

  • Aubrey Plaza Teases ‘Agatha’ Disney+ Series With Disney Reference

    Aubrey Plaza Teases ‘Agatha’ Disney+ Series With Disney Reference

    Marvel Studios just recently used the Disney Upfronts to tease what the rest of the year has in store for us for its Disney+ series. We finally have a release date for not just Loki but also Echo, which has finally been confirmed to release later this year. Yet, they also have other projects in development and it seems Aubrey Plaza is having fun teasing another project that is rumored to arrive tomorrow.

    Without any real word, Aubrey Plaza has shared an image that states Marvel Studios: The Darkhold Diaries. While it might be easy to think this might be a new spinoff series from Agatha: Coven of Chaos, there’s been no word that they’d want to add even more shows after already dialing it back this year.

    What is more likely, this might be a reference to the series she’s working on and the logo might be a new production title for it. Plus, the logo and font seem to be a dark twist on the Disney classic The Princess Diaries. We still know very little about the project but it’s great to see the excitement of Plaza’s involvement with the project.

    For now, we might not know for quite some time what exactly the is teasing with this image. Perhaps we will get a better tease in the near future and this is just the beginning, but it’ll generally be interesting what the future has in store for Marvel Studios’ overall Disney+ strategy.

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s success might push them towards reworking where Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fell into a slump. Perhaps dialing it back with their Disney+ projects is just the first step and spreading them out even further. We don’t know how long the wait will be for the next but there’s a chance after Echo, we’ll see another slowdown until the summer kicks off.

    Source: Instagram

  • Live Action ‘One Piece’ Adds Former Cirque du Soleil Acrobat as Cabaji

    Live Action ‘One Piece’ Adds Former Cirque du Soleil Acrobat as Cabaji

    We’re only a few more weeks away from entering the second half year and Netflix is still playing with our hearts on when we can expect the first trailer or release date for its live-action One Piece adaptation. While many are likely still quite a bit cautious due to their track record with these adaptations, a lot of elements are coming together hinting at this potentially being the one to break the mold with passionate cast and showrunners. Even the manga creator Eiichiro Oda has his hands on the project, confirming that it won’t go out into the world until he approves it.

    To hold us over until Netflix drops an official statement, @OP_Netflix_Fan and the detectives over at the One Piece Live-Action Discord server have uncovered another actor playing a familiar role in the live-action adaptation. Buggy’s crew is finally growing with Sven Ruygrok confirming he is set to play Cabaji in Netflix’s One Piece in his CV. Going by it, he has a background in gymnastics and dancing but most notably worked as part of Cirque du Soleil, which makes him an interesting choice for the man commonly unicycling his way through combat.

    It’s great to see them adding an actor that also has the acrobatic skills that match the character from the manga. While it’s unclear just how much we’ll see him jump around or if he’ll primarily be using a unicycle (if at all) but it’s definitely a great little addition to the already stellar cast. Now, we only need to know if he also has a bizarre haircut and a long scarf. They may have shortened it to ensure it doesn’t get in the way during combat; especially if he uses swords.

    Source: Twitter, APM, IMDb

  • ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Eyeing a Soft $40M Opening Weekend in Early Projections

    ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Eyeing a Soft $40M Opening Weekend in Early Projections

    A long time ago, the Transformers franchise under the leadership of Michael “Bayhem” Bay was one of the biggest releases in theaters. Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction went on to make billions at the box office but started to lose momentum with the release of The Last Knight and Bumblebee. While the latter was a fresh take and much closer to what fans hoped to see from this franchise, the franchise definitely lost quite a bit of momentum as it went on.

    One could argue that the lack of Transformers branding could also have softened its opening, but it still managed to pull in $465M on a softer $102M production budget. The opening weekend at $21M had many concerned that this franchise might run out of steam, but that doesn’t mean production companies will try to keep a potential billion-dollar franchise dormant for long.

    So, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the next attempt to revitalize the franchise by bringing back Optimus Prime and even introducing the more out-there concept of the Maximals. The promotion has not been shy about showcasing these characters that carry on the introduction of Lockjaw and the dinosaur-based Transformers while also re-introducing the classic characters in familiar designs closer to what Bumblebee offered.

    Yet, it seems early projections aren’t looking too optimistic for the franchise return. Pre-sales at the moment are closer to underperformers like recent releases Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Morbius. Plus, the summer market is extremely stuffed (leaving its scars in the earlier quarter of the year) and may lead to quite a few films cannibalizing each other. June is quite a bit stuffed with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Flash, who shared very similar audiences.

    As of now, the film is tracked for an opening somewhere between $30M and $40M. That would put it lower than 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight which opened to $44M. Of course, it’s still an early projection and they might push the marketing quite a bit more the closer we get to release. The only issue is that this VFX-heavy release might be another $200M production investment that may not get paid off.

    For now, we’ll have to keep a close eye as projections change but we might be seeing more and more that what some called a “superhero fatigue” is closer to a blockbuster fatigue. There are certain expectations in 2023 that are showing strong patience for streaming offerings due to how it was handled throughout the last few years. Last year seemed less impacted due to a limited release schedule but we’ll have to see how many films actually get lots in the shuffle.

    Source: Box Office Pro, The Numbers

  • ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Breaks Marvel’s Box Office Curse

    ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Breaks Marvel’s Box Office Curse

    If there was one thing Marvel Studios’ releases were reliable on, it was just how frontloaded most of their projects are. Commonly, the films post-COVID have dropped at least around 55% at the box office but it started to get harsher and harsher as time went on. Even Spider-Man: No Way Home dropped around 68% after a massive opening. No matter if a B or A CinemaScore, it seemed like most of these projects are facing around 65% drops at least.

    Finally, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has broken that very course with an impressive hold over its second weekend. The film has pulled in $60.5M in its second weekend, which marks its best second-weekend hold since the pandemic started at 49%. While earlier most suspected around 55%, this marks the film only $5M off from the previous entry and could actually mark a much stronger run moving forward. It’s even $1.7M off from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which had Marvel Studios’ best post-covid opening so far.

    What makes this so significant is that it’s even lower than Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ 54% drop, which was the last before the films started dropping more and more. It also marks a turning point from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s drop at around 70% earlier this year; a film that seemingly ran out of steam after a record-breaking opening for the trilogy. In a way, it further highlights that this is less a superhero fatigue but rather a more selective audience due to quick accessibility via streaming.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had a similar A CinemaScore to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 but still faced a 62.9% drop. The film still managed to make around $854M at the box office after a powerful $181M opening weekend. Guardians 3 had a weaker softer opening but is set to leg out, which is far more important for Marvel Studios at the moment. If they faced Quantumania developments moving forward, we could discuss fatigue being a key factor at play.

    While some will point to this being the last hurrah by James Gunn and a much better showcase of DC Studios’ future, it also marks a turning point for Marvel moving forward. If The Marvels doesn’t capitalize on this development and they can continue back to building A CinemaScores with their offerings, they may see a much more positive development once again. While it’s hard to say where the film will land, it already passed $528M worldwide and has a chance of breaking the $900M mark. The power of its word-of-mouth will push it forward.

    Source: Deadline, Twitter, BoxOffice Pro

  • Willem Dafoe Joins Jenna Ortega in ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel

    Willem Dafoe Joins Jenna Ortega in ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel

    Tim Burton is set on bringing a classic franchise back to the silver screen with his work on a Beetlejuice sequel. The cast has been growing quite a bit as of late, as the film has already started production. It’s unclear if the script was finished in advance given the WGA strike but we’ll have to see if anything changes. That still isn’t stopping the return of adding to its cast with some heavy hitters. Michael Keaton is back in the titular role and is joined by Jenna Ortega, who will play the daughter of Winona Ryder’s character, who is also returning.

    As of now, the cast has also added Catherine O’Hara alongside Justin Theroux and Monica Belluci. Yet, that isn’t all as the news has just dropped that Willem Dafoe has seemingly also joined the production. The exact details on his character are scarce, but he may be playing a law enforcement officer in the afterlife, but it’s unclear if he has that role or simply is a cop that may be living.

    The film is eyeing a September 2024 release, which was Marvel Studios’ original release date for Blade. Though that film halted pre-production due to the strike, it’s not a good showcase that this film is moving forward. It’s also funny to see some typecasting for this film as Ortega continues to gather all gothic franchises under her belt after her recent breakout hit Wednesday. It’ll be interesting to see her dynamic opposite Ryder.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • Netflix Won’t Renew ‘Lockwood & Co’ for a Second Season

    Netflix Won’t Renew ‘Lockwood & Co’ for a Second Season

    Netflix is doing its thing again, as it has decided not to move forward with the supernatural detective series, Lockwood & Co. for a second season. The series was based on Jonathan Stroud’s young adult novels and had Joe Cornish bringing the series to life that hit Netflix earlier this year in January. Ruby Stokes took on the leading role of ghost hunter Lucy Carlyle, who ends up establishing her own ghost-busting agency.

    While some will discuss why Netflix would once again cancel a series, it seems the viewing numbers just weren’t there to justify another season investment. It does seem like Complete Friction, who was behind the project, is not done working with Netflix and they already have a number of projects in development. They stated that working on Lockwood & Co was “one of the most rewarding experiences of our careers” and were grateful for what they were able to accomplish with the series adaptation.

    With heavy hearts, we announce that ‘Lockwood & Co.’ will not be returning for a second series. Making this show was one of the most rewarding experiences of our careers and we will forever treasure it. Being trusted by the supremely talented Jonathan Stroud to adapt his outstanding series of books was an honour and a privilege. Working with him as closely as we did across the development, production and release of Lockwood & Co has made him a friend, and part of the Complete Fiction family, for life.

    There was quite some fanfare for the project online, but sadly it seems that it was not up to Netflix’s very strict expectations of how a series should perform. There is uncertainty about how many projects really could live up to that measure, especially given the lack of promotion some of these series get. The higher the budget, the bigger the expectation and it’s getting difficult for some shows to build up an audience with a trailer and a poster shortly before release at times.

    Source: Variety

  • Vin Diesel Seemingly Confirms ‘Fast X’ as First Part of a Trilogy

    Vin Diesel Seemingly Confirms ‘Fast X’ as First Part of a Trilogy

    You can always count on Vin Diesel’s enthusiasm to keep a franchise going even as everyone else expects it to wrap up. Originally, The Fast Saga was announced to wrap up with its upcoming eleventh film as production started on Fast X which would set up the final entry. There has been speculation these two films are more of a “Part 1” and “Part 2” deal, but it seems that Diesel has expanded upon his idea.

    On the red carpet for Fast X, the franchise’s main star has seemingly confirmed that the last entry is no longer setting up the final part but rather is the first of a three-part finale. So, it seems we are getting a trilogy to wrap up the mainline Fast Saga even if there’s a good chance he may just expand upon it if this is his way of promoting a new entry into the car-driven action franchise.

    It’s certainly a bizarre move as they made quite a big deal out of wrapping it up with these upcoming two films. There’s no word if director Louis Letterier will also return for the sequels after the fallout that occurred on production with original Fast X director Justin Lin. The film already has to make up a lot of money for the delays that occurred due to Lin’s exit and who knows how long this franchise will keep the engine going.

    Source: Twitter