Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Faces Challenging Box Office Debut in Asia Pacific Markets

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Faces Challenging Box Office Debut in Asia Pacific Markets

    Not all is sunny with the latest release by Marvel Studios, as while it did manage to release in its predicted release window at $104M domestically over three days. The big surprise is a softer release internationally at $121.3M. As of now, the film is 13% ahead of the first Ant-Man internationally but 27% below its sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp. Yet, the big reasoning here is that it had a very soft Chinese opening at 19M, which is quite a bit further away from the predicted $35M to $55M. It seems that it did receive a similar score to that of the first Ant-Man but was lower on another score.

    Rotten Tomatoes soft score didn’t help and if you add in factors like a tired box office after Chinese New Year and a general lack of interest in Hollywood productions, it’s going to be a tough battle for the film in that market. We also can’t forget that Marvel films have been banned since 2019 and it was going to be an uphill battle no matter what was released in that market. Deadline also points out one rather interesting aspect: science-fiction has major troubles in Asia Pacific markets as even Star Wars has trouble establishing itself in these markets.

    South Korea seems to have a similar development with these types of films, which doesn’t help matters much as both were key markets in the last two films’ releases. Still, Australia and European markets are performing ahead of the last two releases and could make up for the softer Asian release, but it does seem unlikely that the film will pass Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s global box office at this rate. It could have a chance at around $550M to $600M depending if that B CinemaScore will not overshadow any potential legs. The drop in the next weekend will give us a clearer picture.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Dethrones ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ as Third-Highest February Release

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Dethrones ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ as Third-Highest February Release

    It’s been a nailbiting weekend for the box office, as many were unsure if Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may actually manage $100M opening. The B cinemaScore and critical reception made it a make or break situation. Now, for any other ffilm this would be a fantastic opening weekend even with an A score, but Marvel has more weight on its shoulders as one of the biggest franchises and money-makers for Disney. Still, the film surprised and pulled in an additional 33.8M over Saturday after a strong $46M Friday (including Thursday previews) and is set to close the weekend with $104M over three days.

    Don’t forget, this is Presidents Day weekend and as such will probably wrap up around $118M. Keep in mind, those numbers can always fluctuate once the weekend wraps up. That would place perfectly in the more positive side of its initial prediction that was between $96M to $131M. So, the film certainly delivered on its box office promise even if the next weekends drop being the true indicator what kind of multiplier we can expect. A more mixed to positive word-of-mouth could still net it a 2.3 multiplier but given the Ant-Man franchise could surprise given how well it worked with children and families. It may have potentially found a niche that could carry the film further.

    It should also be noted that the Saturday hold percentage wise is better than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (-36%), Thor: Love and Thunder (-40%) but not far from Eternals, who also shares the B rating. Deadline believes the draw of Kang the Conqueror may be balancing out any of the critical reception. The film opened 44% higher than Ant-Man and the Wasp and is now the trilogy’s biggest opener. Interestingly enough was playing evenly throughout the entire day. So, this is perhaps a more balanced experience than the other more frontloaded pictures, but only time will tell.

    Overall, the film also pulled in a strong $121.3M worldwide and now stands at $238.3M worldwide. The film isn’t breaking any records worldwide and had a smaller opening in China with 19.2M but that market also hasn’t had a Marvel movie in quite some time release at the same as internationally. Deadline has pointed out that science-fiction adventures do have that habit internationally. As of now, the film is now the third highest opener in February ever following Black Panther ($242.2M) and Deadpool ($152.2M). It has now dethroned the former third place holder of Fifty Shades of Grey at $93M.

    Even with the current critical and CinemaScore rating, there’s still expectation the film will become the highest Ant-Man entry, which it would manage by passing $622M. To reach though, it’ll need a better multiplier around 2,6 at least, which might be the biggest challenge. A rejuvenated market may help push its legs, as our only real comparison is during last year when fiilms barely had any momentum and multiple weeks of barely any major releases.

    Source: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety

  • First Production Details for Millenium’s Second ‘Hellboy’ Reboot

    First Production Details for Millenium’s Second ‘Hellboy’ Reboot

    It hasn’t been easy for Hellboy. The franchise was made a Hollywood staple with its two films directed by Guillermo del Toro, which sadly wasn’t as big of a box office success as they were able to finish their trilogy. So, they gave it another shot in 2019 with David Harbour taking over the role popularized by Ron Perlman. Now, Millenium Media is ready to give it another shot with the upcoming adaptation under the title Hellboy: The Crooked Man.

    Brian Taylor of Crank fame will be directing the film and they are already eyeing a production start in Bulgaria next month. It seems that no one has been cast just yet but they do seem to be in the final stages of finding their cast. Comics creator Mike Mignola is also involved with the project and even wrote the script alongside Chris Golden, who is his comic collaborator for Dark Horse. They promise the story will “expand Hellboy’s world through one of the most beloved issues of the comic series.” Surprisingly, this is the first time that Mignola is involved with the film franchise.

    The adaptation is inspired by the 2008 comic, which was released around the time Hellboy 2: The Golden Army found its way into theaters. Millenium took over the rights for the iconic character back in 2018 and they are hoping to establish a new franchise with this entry. No, not just a trilogy but going for multiple films even after the disappointment that was the 2019 reboot; something David Harbour jokes about as something that still haunts him to this day.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Conquers a $46M Friday Opening at the Box Office

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Conquers a $46M Friday Opening at the Box Office

    The numbers are in and after a very strong $17.5M Thursday preview showing for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it seems the film managed to pull in a strong $46M haul over Friday at the domestic market. As such, there’s a good chance the film will at least pull in $100M over three days at the box office; though the recent B CinemaScore could slow down its momentum. Still, the film is the biggest in the trilogy as Ant-Man opened to $57.2M; the smallest MCU start; and Ant-Man and the Wasp managed to pull in $75.8M. They grew from previews at around $6M and $12M respectively.

    The film is now the third-highest Friday grosser in February and is on track to make around $115M over the four-day weekend. There have been some that believe it could go even higher towards $120M but the current critical reception may make that a bit difficult. 62% of the audience seemingly purchased their tickets in advance or even on the day still makes for a strong opening overall for the film. Audiences seem to give it a 3 1/2 star overall and while it has similar lows like Eternals, this entry has a bit more going for it that could entice audiences long-term.

    Kang’s arrival was the main selling point and that could definitely be something that’ll keep audiences interested to check it out in case they missed anything. Creed 3 is also around the corner starring Jonathan Majors, which may boost the film for those wanting to compare his performances. IMAX made up 43% and is showcasing that the format may become a great way to build more revenue for cinemas. The big test remains on how the film will perform overall at the box office, as it’s unclear if it’ll manage to pull $700M+ with its current rating.

    A $600M run does seem very possible but just how high it goes depends on the drop in the next weekend. The Box office is looking at a lot of competition in the coming weeks but that actually makes for a good thing, as the last few years have been dead at the theaters. So, the more releases there are, the more momentum theater chains get in visitors. Some might come back to check out the Ant-Man threequel and it seems he movie performed very well with families. Perhaps that kind of demographic could make all the difference and push the film towards a 2.3 or even 2.4 multiplier.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Joins ‘Eternals’ With Lowest MCU CinemaScore

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Joins ‘Eternals’ With Lowest MCU CinemaScore

    There’s been quite a discourse online about the quality of the recent Marvel movies. The critical reception of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has reawakened discussion points that have been around since all the way back in Phase 2, as the franchise continues to exist in a cycle of quality discussions. Still, even with a mixed critical reception with 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, the Audience Score is quite a bit more positive with 84% of audiences seemingly enjoying the film.

    Still, the CinemaScore is a classic way to see where the film’s overall word-of-mouth might land and it seems that audiences are also mostly mixed with the very frontloaded scoring. The film has now been the second Marvel Cinematic Universe film to receive a B CinemaScore. Audiences are seemingly a bit mixed on the film but it’s interesting that the second high sci-fi attempt by Marvel Studios ends up with a similar rating.

    https://twitter.com/CinemaScore/status/1626871462463262720

    One thing often overlooked is that the CinemaScore does not mean people hate the film, they just simply thought it was okay; a general sentiment you see online. There’s also always a chance that certain elements in the film just don’t jive with audiences. Horror films generally don’t do better than a B or B+ due to the elements included in the film that define the genre. Not every blockbuster film pulls in an A ranking like the recent Plane also landed at a B+.

    It’s just unusual for Marvel to have this many B ratings throughout the last two years but also not a complete defining trait of the franchise. They’ve been more experimental and that is reflected by these films not always being “crowd pleasers across the board.” The big thing here is if the film will have legs moving forward though even 2022’s B+ films did manage to pull in quite a box office over its run. We’ll have to see though if this B scoring will slowly come to an end as Marvel Studios reshuffles.

    Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Twitter

  • New Listing Reveals Writers for Each of Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Episodes

    New Listing Reveals Writers for Each of Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Episodes

    Every day, it feels like we get one piece at a time of the puzzle which is Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece. After dropping a first look with a poster just a few weeks ago, the project has once again gone silent. It is, admittedly, more than you’d get with other shows from the streaming service this long before even a release date is set, but it does seem like we continue to grasp for straws on whatever information we get.

    Luckily, it seems the project is slowly moving towards the finishing line, as the WGA, short for Writers Guild of America West, has been updated for the upcoming series. It includes seven episodes so far but lists up to eight episodes for the season. This isn’t the first time it gave us a full writers list, as the same happened for Moon Knight last year in February ahead of its release. Going by the WGA entries, it seems that the writers for the upcoming episodes are the following:

    • Episode 1 – Teleplay by Matt Owens & Steven Maeda
    • Episode 2 – Written by: Ian Stokes
    • Episode 3 – Written by: Matt Owens & Damani Johnson
    • Episode 4 – Written by: TBA
    • Episode 5 – Written by: Laura Jacqmin
    • Episode 6 – Written by Steven Maeda and Diego Gutierrez
    • Episode 7 – Written by: Tiffany Greshler & Ian Stokes and Allison Weintraub & Lindsay Gelfand
    • Episode 8 – Written by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda

    Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are the showrunners of this live-action adaptation. It’s interesting they write the finale and pilot, which is called a “teleplay” in comparison to the rest. They also are involved separately again in the third and sixth episodes. Owens has quite the track record of having worked Luke Cage as a writer and was even a story editor on Agents of SHIELD and The Defenders.

    Maeda has quite a history with series like The X-Files, Lost, Lie to Me, CSI: Miami, and more. They are joined by Ian Stokes, who also was a writer on Luke Cage, Teen Wolf, Warehouse 13, and Iron Fist. Episode 3 writer Damani Johnson worked on Salvation, Major Crimes, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and more.

    Laura Jacqmin has some gaming experience with Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Game Series, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier but also worked on We Broke Up and was a story editor on Grace and Frankie. Diego Gutierrez worked on series like V, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek, The Shield, Warehouse 13, and more.

    Episode 7 had quite a few writers working on it including Helix and Underground writer Tiffany Greshler. Allison Weintraub has worked on series like The Umbrella Academy, Prince of Peoria, and Supergirl. Last but not least, Lindsay Gelfand is also a fellow The Umbrella Academy and Supergirl alum, but also worked on Manhattan Love Story.

    So, the series has quite a variety of talented writers on board to help bring the Straw Hats’ adventures to live-action. It’s interesting that the fourth episode is seemingly still missing, but that may get updated at a later point.

    Source: WGA

  • Live-Action ‘Lilo and Stitch’ Film Adds Zach Galifianakis

    Live-Action ‘Lilo and Stitch’ Film Adds Zach Galifianakis

    Disney has been quite busy with its live-action adaptations and already has quite a few in some form of development to further capitalize on their nostalgia franchises. Dean Fleischer Camp is busy working on bringing Lilo and Stitch to life once again for Disney+, and it seems he may have already found one of its stars. It seems that Hangover star Zach Galifianakis will be joining the production by the director of Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.

    As you might guess, his role is still a mystery and it’s unclear who he might be playing. There’s a good chance he could be playing someone completely original though he would make for a good choice to play Pleakley, the loveable assistant that ends up stuck with Jumba Jookiba, who also has yet to be cast. DisInsider has pointed out that their sources heard he’s playing the character of Pleakley.

    Of course, we don’t know how close they are sticking to the original, as we’ve already heard rumblings that some aspects will get changed. It comes with the territory when you’re adapting something as iconic as a Disney animated film and want to give viewers a reason to see the new version of it. Still, we’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out who Galifianakis might end up playing, and the big question: who will be Lilo?

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, DisInsider

  • Wolverine Voice Actor Offers Update on ‘X-Men ’97’ Season 2

    Wolverine Voice Actor Offers Update on ‘X-Men ’97’ Season 2

    Marvel Studios has started many different projects since COVID hit, and it has disrupted their usual release schedules. As we’re entering an era where less will release,e we still have no word on what exactly will happen to the various animated projects moving forward like X-Men ’97.

    During San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios pretty much renewed most of their animated projects for a second season. That was, however, followed by rumors that they may not be moving forward with them until seeing if their projects even managed to pull in an audience, which is not conducive for any animated project.

    Luckily, it seems that at least X-Men ’97 is moving forward even though we still have no update on the first season release. To showcase that it is moving forward, Wolverine voice actor Cal Dodd has taken to his Twitter account to share a little update on what’s been happening with the iconic voice and even sporting some familiar claws.

    https://twitter.com/realcaldodd/status/1626683842881781761

    If they are already starting on the second season, Marvel Studios seems quite impressed with the work their team has brought to life. We still are waiting for some kind of trailer or release date but animation takes quite a bit of time to bring to life. So, they might still take some time and are recording in advance while they continue work on the production. These projects are being treated separately from the mainline Marvel Cinematic Universe and as such aren’t going to be as affected by the restructuring.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘The Last Guardian’ Composer Confirms Involvement with Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’

    ‘The Last Guardian’ Composer Confirms Involvement with Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’

    It was first rumored by Knight Edge Media just yesterday that the upcoming live-action Netflix series Avatar: The Last Airbender may have alredy found its composer in the talented Takeshi Furukawa. Now, it seems that he has officially confirmed it himself by taking to his personal Twitter account to share that he is working on the series.

    Not just that, he also highlights that he is honored to “receive stewardship of the incredible themes from the original series.” As such, it seems safe to assume that we’ll very likely see a soundtrack for this new adaptation that takes a lot of inspiration from the original. Something that is surprisingly rare for most live-action adaptations given just how unique they try to make it completely their own. Though, it seems they may also re-use the original as well.

    https://twitter.com/TFurukawaMusic/status/1626659454547795968

    It’s a good start for the drought that we’re having with one of Netflix’s biggest adaptations. They’re putting a lot of money into bringing those series to life but seemingly have not promoted any of it if they are still hoping for a 2023 release. While they’ve rushed out high-budget projects with a three-month announcement window like Cowboy Bebop, it does seem odd they aren’t pushing it harder.

    The series started producing quite a bit of time before One Piece did, but they already gave us a key visual for that adaptation to kick off the year. So, we don’t know what exactly Netflix’s plan is for its major releases this year and when exactly we can expect both series to find their way to the service without competing with each other. Maybe this will finally kickstart more announcements.

    Source: Knight Edge Media, Twitter

  • All Roads LED Here: Marvel’s Future with Stagecraft May End

    All Roads LED Here: Marvel’s Future with Stagecraft May End

    If there ever was a piece of technology that went from being “the future” to having the Internet complain about it ruining experiences, it would be Stagecraft. The technology is quite simple, as it makes use of LED screens and pre-rendered elements to give actors something to act from. The Mandalorian popularized it and it became a useful tool during COVID and put Industrial Light & Magic on the map for many productions.

    Cinematographer Greig Fraser has been a strong proponent against the use of greenscreen (but still uses them heavily for some of his biggest projects under new names like “Sand Screens” in Dune) and was one of the first to push the technology forward. He went on to make good use of the Stagecraft in The Batman after pioneering it for The Mandalorian. Still, even that great film couldn’t avoid some people feeling it was a little flat in its design give or take.

    As its use went on, that complaint started to pick up more and more speed. It got to a point where the main criticism was that this technology creates a lifeless experience and truly only creates something that is “too polished.” Not really great for every project already filming at the time as its criticism took centerstage. Marvel went all in with projects potentially making good use of it, Thor: Love and Thunder, the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the just-released Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

    Marvel is already constantly under a magnifying glass for its use of a green screen and CG over the years. Especially once the pandemic hit, it felt like a free-for-all on what problems one can find and focus primarily on the few times it just wasn’t 100% right. So, the use of a technology that is already at a stage of heavy criticism during a time when filmmaking was at its most difficult was going to face some new challenges.

    Thor: Love and Thunder was the first to release that technology and the criticism of flat backgrounds has returned. Many discussions online were questioning what was the cause: bad lighting or just generally if the technology is too early for the big screen given how limited it is in scope. Its use, however, was highly praised by those working on the projects in how they combined real set pieces with the technology giving them more flexibility.

    It’s a strange fight, as there’s an expectation that “shot on set is always better,” which is definitely the case given its tangibility, but also downplays the value of this technology and its use. We want to move away from greenscreen but also push away any alternatives, especially for projects like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that explore a completely foreign world. Director Peyton Reed has experience working with the tech and likely was excited to return to its use.

    The film also received similar criticism due to the technology and the usual CG comments that have dominated Marvel discourse for quite some time now. It starts blending together where it’s difficult to truly tell if it’s Stagecraft or the CG that makes it difficult as a topic overall. Though some have also praised the CG and Quantumania‘s very mixed reception creates a difficult point of discourse. Yahoo’s review of the film just called it “almost wholly on green screens” which just completely sidelines the tech while, for example, CNet‘s just generally praises the world created.

    CG is a sour topic and Marvel became quite the focus given its size and popularity. Post-Endgame, there’s also a big “it’s not like it used to be” mentality that has just been pushed forward by the pandemic’s restrictions on the industry. A film like Quantumania also will rely more on CG given that it takes place fully in a non-realistic world and given its design choices, it wanted to be as wacky as possible; something praised and loathed from one review to the next.

    We know that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was initially announced to use the technology; another franchise that makes a lot of use of greenscreens and sets given its space-focused storyline. Yet, James Gunn seemingly decided against its use due to it not being able to bring his vision to life for the final film in his trilogy. So, he would’ve used it if it were fitting for what he was trying to accomplish.

    By all accounts, that would seemingly be the end of its use with this week’s release of Quantumania. Yet, there is one more hint that exists for use on The Marvels. Sadly, it’s just a very unreliable source in the form of IMDb. The upcoming Captain Marvel sequel includes credits for Stagecraft artists Robb Gardner, supervisor Christopher Django Johnston, and more. The only thing is, there’s no real official announcement about the use of the technology.

    So far, we haven’t had any official announcements for future projects and it almost seems like they won’t be focusing their use on the technology moving forward. Select projects like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever did not make use of the tech. So, they aren’t forcing it into every project and there’s definitely a surprising silence on its future use after heavy promotion for Quantumania.

    At this rate, it does seem like they aren’t going to rely too heavily on it anymore. It should also be noted that all productions released this year used the technology in 2021 while COVID was still at a high point. Thor: Love and Thunder was produced in 2020 when it was even unpredictable, which makes the expectation of its necessity higher. Yet, we’re about to enter a very different era for Marvel Studios’ productions.

    It should be noted that non of the 2024 releases have even started filming just yet. In a way, we’re returning to some normalcy and their usual production schedule from before the pandemic moving forward. There hasn’t been a single production in 2022, which is curious and perhaps a showcase of rearranging pieces around the board. Quantumania was originally the ending of Phase 4 and the reception seems to hgihlight that.

    Stagecraft might still get used but we shouldn’t expect any major promotions of its use for future titles. It probably will only be a sparing addition to production if there ever is truly a necessity given whatever the production is working on. Perhaps this year will signal the final “COVID era productions” from Marvel Studios with a potential new future going into the next year. Phase 5 may have not kicked off how some wanted, but it doesn’t mean Marvel is truly over, it may just be getting started once again.

    Source: YouTube, GameRant, IndieWire, DisInsider, Movieweb, IndieWire, Total Film, IMDb, ILM