I doubt making Frozen sequels is the only reason she stepped down. WDAS is definitely in big creative trouble. All their upcoming projects are nothing but sequels.
I think the biggest problem with this franchise is, general audience really don't give a shit on it. The first three movies worked well cuz they caught the zeitgeist in the era of post-911 with astonishing CGI jobs. Today, you can easily tell they're making pure commercial products. It could be fun at best. But mostly, it's boring and unnecessary.
I just realized Phoenix doesn't star Gladiator 2. I guess he also dumped this movie five days before principal photography?
Ridley can claim for compensation if it flop.
50/50. I think the concern is more about its quality than the absence of previous movie. As long as Eddie and Venom are funny, it's not hard to try somewhere around $100M. Aquaman 2 should be the bottom line ($65M).
Most negative comments mentioned the problem is the stylized courtroom drama instead of musical parts. It crashed all those potentials of the sequel being different and fresh.
just a warning, two local critics gave 2/5 to it on local film site after press screening in Venice. The reactions are mainly saying Todd have no idea what he can talk more about the characters.
Oppenheimer of 2024 is here. There Will Be Blood, Once Upon a Time in America, Godfather level great. Some even say it's what Coppola wanted to tell but couldn't help himself in Megalopolis.
With Anora, American cinema this year is really in the peak of modern days. Make the American Cinema Great Again.