Mango

I think this is a good point. “Peak” MCU was arguably 2018-2019. BP, IW, Captain Marvel, and Endgame absolutely blowing away expectations as the hype for the MCU reached feverish peaks. Outside of No Way Home, which had the advantage of 20 years of nostalgia with the worst kept secret in Hollywood, plus arguably being the first big 4-quadrant event in a post-vaccine world all going for it, no MCU movie really has reached those heights. Strange 2 was highly anticipated for similar reasons as that film, and you could even argue expectations got the best of that film and really ended up being a con for it. Add in the mixed reception of phase 4 and it makes sense Guardians 3 isn’t exactly lighting it up in presales. That said I think the doom and gloom is overblown a lot. A decrease from Vol 2 isn’t exactly the end of the world. Sounds like fans of the Guardians franchise itself will likely be invested in this one, and could lead to better legs.

Honestly out of the James Gunn family I’m hoping for Karen Gillan and Bautista as Poison Ivy and Bane

If this only does $130 mil that is a bit of a disappointment. The Guardians are beloved by audiences, and even if it dips in attendance from Vol 2 opening, the six years of inflation should make up for it. I think low end, $140-150m though it’s worth noting that with people becoming disenchanted with the MCU’s recent output it definitely can have an adverse affect on future titles, since common people aren’t only judging Guardians 3 by it’s predecessors, but likely also Quantumania and Thor 4. EDIT: and while I have a lot of faith in Gunn to deliver a good film, it should be noted Guardians 3 somehow ending up disliked could have a butterfly effect on his DCU and Superman film. He’s got a lot more riding on this film than meets the eye.

I think variety or one of the big outlets had it pegged for $95-115 over the 5-day last week

Idk about the casting there but a live action Zelda could work, but you have to have a writer/director that cares deeply about the source material. A Zelda movie is not an easy task to get right. Ocarina of Time would be the ideal template for the film, but getting it right is going to be a lot of work.

Deep lore

With Nintendo and Universal’s relationship… I want my Dreamworks Zelda movie

Mario Bros got a hugely positive reaction at my showing. The showing sold out, and got a lot of laughs. Really charming film, idk how people who aren’t video game (more specifically Mario/Nintendo fans) will like it but if you’ve ever played a Mario game or two it seems the movie really delivers on what counts.

If they don’t go the live action route, I will absolutely stan a Dreamworks made Zelda film.

To be perfectly fair we also had test screenings saying stuff like Eternals was a masterpiece so… I usually try to withhold judgements on these things until at least a few weeks before release. Tbh Indy 4 is a mess and though I like Mangold as a director an Indy movie without Spielberg and Lucas creatively involved seemed pretty “meh” to me from the get-go.

This is gonna be the highest grossing animated film next year. admittedly I have no clue what other animation is coming out but this will win. Illumination/Universal marketing plus Nintendo marketing, with 40 years of cross generation appeal.

I’m not even sure what this thread is about. Pretty sure the last Star Wars movie came out in 1983, it ended gracefully and left a practically untarnished legacy behind it for generations.

At this point just rewrite the movie and turn it into the Batman version of No Way Home lol. Give Bale a gigantic paycheck and have him, Keaton, and Affleck be the focal points while Flash is just the Doctor Strange and is just a catalyst for the movie to exist

So we should end up with five films over $20 million this weekend, very good sign for theaters

Avatar definitely isn’t one to write off, in terms of potential gross it might have the most of any film this year, but there are a lot of factors that will be at play. Namely; quality and just how the original has endured in the eyes of the GA. 3D is basically a niche market at this point, so I’m also interested to see if Avatar 2 is enough to bring people back to the format.

Interesting that despite being the only film in the top 5 to go up on Sunday, TG still held about as well as Lightyear and Strange on Monday, and actually a bit better than Jurassic. Bob’s Burgers with the clutch 39.5% hold though lol

Still outrageous for Top Gun. Even after the surprising opening weekend, having nearly $475m domestic would have been the high end of my expectations, yet it’s there before it’s fifth weekend. Idk exactly what to expect for this weekend, could drop expectedly near or over 40% thanks to an inflated weekend or 20% and neither would surprise me. Either way I’m expecting an insane hold on the July 1-3 weekend.

Copyright??

Just listing another example but Raiders of the Lost Ark is “only” 115 minutes and not only manages to introduce numerous characters and sets but also manages to feel like a huge adventure. Not everything has to be 2.5 hours lol

Father’s Day always helps Marvel movies

$50 mil isn’t a flop for Lightyear but definitely a big underperformance. The hype wasn’t all that hot but $70m should have been doable.

I think Bird’s new movie is aiming to be more mature/ likely PG-13, something Disney would absolutely not allow Pixar to do

Tbh as long as they don’t jump the gun and shove it on Paramount Plus too early, Top Gun would probably be a prime Labor Day expansion for premium screens

Or let the Toy Story franchise retire in peace while it still has its dignity. TS4 being good was a miracle, not sure if a TS5 would be any better than Lightyear.

Any early projections for Saturday? Really interested to see what Top Gun is going into Father’s Day with