JUSTICE LEAGUE - Fails to make $100 million opening weekend

[Darth Knox]

So the opening box office for Justice League (domestically in the US) this weekend is a inconceivably low $96 million. To put that into context, here are the opening box office numbers for all the other DCEU movies:

Wonder Woman - $103 million
Batman vs Superman - $166 million
Suicide Squad - $135 million
Man of Steel - $116 million

That means Justice League is by far the lowest opening of any DCEU movie to date. Now I know there are plenty of movies out there that would love to have a $96 million opening weekend, but in this day and age, where comic book movies reign supreme at the box office and routinely open with in excess of $100 million dollars, what does this say about the movie and audiences anticipation?

Do these numbers highlight a lack of faith in the DC brand?
Did the movie just contain too many heroes unknown to general movie going audiences (those who do not know/aren't fans of the comics)?
Did the decision not to allow critics reviews to be released until two beforehand send off alarm signals that the movie wasn't as good as expected?

I wouldn't say that it is due to comic book fatigue; if you look at Thor: Ragnarok, which only opened three weeks before Justice League, that movie is doing extremely well at the box office both domestically and worldwide. Personally, I think that even though Wonder Woman did a lot to generate positive good will towards DC, as a whole the DCEU has been at best "ok" and at worst "barely passable" to the point where the brand has been irreparably damaged.

When you look at the moves by Marvel, even if wider audiences do not know who the character is, the release is greeted as an event with people fully trusting the brand to make an entertaining and fun film. Personally I feel that the initial drastically different tone of the pre-Wonder Woman DC releases, while creative and interesting, just failed to capture the imagination of the majority of film-goers.

Just my opinion. Feel free to disagree and comment below with your take on the whole situation

[Master Seblaise]

So the opening box office for Justice League (domestically in the US) this weekend is a inconceivably low $96 million. To put that into context, here are the opening box office numbers for all the other DCEU movies:

Wonder Woman - $103 million
Batman vs Superman - $166 million
Suicide Squad - $135 million
Man of Steel - $116 million

That means Justice League is by far the lowest opening of any DCEU movie to date. Now I know there are plenty of movies out there that would love to have a $96 million opening weekend, but in this day and age, where comic book movies reign supreme at the box office and routinely open with in excess of $100 million dollars, what does this say about the movie and audiences anticipation?

Do these numbers highlight a lack of faith in the DC brand?
Did the movie just contain too many heroes unknown to general movie going audiences (those who do not know/aren't fans of the comics)?
Did the decision not to allow critics reviews until two beforehand send off alarm signals that the movie wasn't as good as expected?

I wouldn't say that it is due to comic book fatigue; if you look at Thor: Ragnarok, which only opened three weeks before Justice League, that movie is doing extremely well at the box office both domestically and worldwide. Personally, I think that even though Wonder Woman did a lot to generate positive good will towards DC, as a whole the DCEU has been at best "ok" and at worst "barely passable" to the point where the brand has been irreparably damaged.

When you look at a Marvel movies, even if wider audiences do not know who the character is, the release is greeted as an event with people fully trusting the brand to make an entertaining and fun film. The initial drastically different tone of the pre-Wonder Woman DC releases, while creative and interesting, just failed to capture the imagination of the majority of film-goers.

Just my opinion. Feel free to disagree and comment below with your take on the whole situation

Well, you know, i have  almost the same feeling ...  i am a great GREAT DC fan (also Marvel Fan) ... and I consider that Disney is more connected to the fans than Warner ...

Of course, it is only my own point of view.

[Darth Tepes]

There are a few other factors I think would apply as well.  Thanksgiving week is upon us in the states and usually starting the Friday before people begin driving/flying to other states to visit family, or begin prepping their homes for entertaining large groups.  Perhaps it will pick up during Black Friday or after.  But I do think the major deciding factor is the generally feeling that the DCEU films just aren't that good.  With hope, considering JL did seem to show an attempt to listen to criticisms and make adjustments, we can get Flashpoint/Rebirth and have a new Universe Start. 

[Darth Knox]

There are a few other factors I think would apply as well.  Thanksgiving week is upon us in the states and usually starting the Friday before people begin driving/flying to other states to visit family, or begin prepping their homes for entertaining large groups. 

Thanksgiving lasts a whole week?! Pardon my ignorance, but when does it start? Surely it wouldn't have had that much of an effect on the weekend just gone?

But I do think the major deciding factor is the generally feeling that the DCEU films just aren't that good.  With hope, considering JL did seem to show an attempt to listen to criticisms and make adjustments, we can get Flashpoint/Rebirth and have a new Universe Start. 

I agree. Wonder Woman is only release that hasn't been divisive amongst critics and fans. As I said in my non-spoiler review, there is a lot of positive course correction that happens in the movie and I am feeling positive about the upcoming Aquaman movie.

However, when you look at it purely from a business point of view, there is a noticeable down trajectory with their opening box office numbers, so Warner Bros may be tempted to pull the plug on the whole thing before we get Flash. Maybe they will go back to just making self-contained movies.

[Darth Tepes]

Thanksgiving lasts a whole week?! Pardon my ignorance, but when does it start? Surely it wouldn't have had that much of an effect on the weekend just gone?

Thanksgiving itself falls on the fourth Thursday of November, but the prep for it for many begins the week prior.  Buying the food, cleaning the house top to bottom, confirming who's coming etc.  But the main thing that would have gotten in the way would be travel.   Most people drive to their out of town/state families for Thanksgiving and (depending on locations) that is a trip that can take days.  Just a bit of speculation

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

I saw it Thursday night and the theater had maybe at least 20 audience members, but I saw it once again tonight with my parents and the theater was nearly full, I'd say at least 100 seats total. It was heartwarming to hear people clap and sheer for the team throughout.

My parents are proof to me that the story of the DCEU is not as hard to follow as some claim it to be. Now I am not saying that my parents are laymen, but they both know very little about these characters deeper than what the surface tells them. And yet, I don't have to explain these movies to them, meaning the underlying themes and tones connect in an impactful way. Sure, those little easter egg moments may go over their heads, but that is the purpose of an easter egg and ultimately they are able to connect with the greater narrative.

I do remember a touching moment last year in which Mother asked me why Clark and Bruce were fighting, because she's adorable and knows that the two are friends. However that was posed before she saw BvS. It's nice to have them there to remind me that the general public doesn't actually harbor all those bitter and negative opinions that I read on a daily basis, but rather they just enjoy watching the films. As an aside I think it's great that my Mother finds Jesse Eisenberg to have an eccentric personality lending itself to his role as Lex Luthor, a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.

[Darth Knox]

OMFG!!! I am currently watching HISHE superhero compilation and the animation on the mouths just reminded me of the bad moustache CGI in Justice League. Only done way better. Seriously, check it out:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAkbCGNbvw8&amp;t=216s" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAkbCGNbvw8&amp;t=216s</a>

[SITHSLAYER]

I saw it twice and I loved it both times.  I was disappointed in the poor low budget look of the cgi to remove Henry's moustache. 

[Obese Wan Kenobese]

I thought there was something wrong with his face. I didn't know about the moustache concealing.

I think this was the second best of the DC films. MOS and BVS fall very short of the inspiration I find from the characters in comics. I think it's ridiculous all the women around me who are just now discovering Wonder Woman...because now she's in a movie. It's women who judge comics as childish that have kept female hero stories down, not us sexist men and our phallic inherent bias. WW was awesome before, and still is. While JL was somewhat light, it still focused more on the core and inspiration these characters represent, not just drama for drama's sake and explosions cuz gdzshhh! That focus indicates a step in the right direction. It just came too late to fix the opening week numbers. I'm also not hearing fans of this Luthor. But, I am hearing more fans of this film than MOS, BVS and SSquad.

[Taegin Roan]

I thought there was something wrong with his face. I didn't know about the moustache concealing.

I think this was the second best of the DC films. MOS and BVS fall very short of the inspiration I find from the characters in comics. I think it's ridiculous all the women around me who are just now discovering Wonder Woman...because now she's in a movie. It's women who judge comics as childish that have kept female hero stories down, not us sexist men and our phallic inherent bias. WW was awesome before, and still is. While JL was somewhat light, it still focused more on the core and inspiration these characters represent, not just drama for drama's sake and explosions cuz gdzshhh! That focus indicates a step in the right direction. It just came too late to fix the opening week numbers. I'm also not hearing fans of this Luthor. But, I am hearing more fans of this film than MOS, BVS and SSquad.

A good summery of my feelings. If they keep making DCEU movies like WW and JL, I think that the DCEU will become as popular as it first promised. And while not the perfect Luthor, I am actually really liking him.

[Cosmoline]

I've never been a big fan of comics, but I do like some of the animated DC stuff from past decades.   The problem I've had with the current DC movies is that they aren't fun.  That was tolerable for the Nolan Batman movies since he was overtly working in a much more realistic and gritty universe.  By the time of MOS, though I was ready for things to lighten up a bit.  I wasn't ready to have a dark, brooding Superman who kills people.  Then BvS comes along and not only offers an incomprehensible plot, but straight up murders a main character from the comics for literally no reason apart from being "edgy."  Suicide Squad again took itself way, way too seriously.  Instead of a fun romp along the lines of "The Warriors" where the band would fight its way through successive gangs or something we end up with a bizarre plot and overly brutal characters.  Again, people are straight up murdered because ooo it's edgy.  I can't take the family to this stuff, DCU!  Nobody can.  And I don't like it enough to go.   It's not well written and the action is meh.  If I want a bloodbath I'll happily watch "13 Assassins."

Then along comes Wonder Woman and it's all great again.  I take the family for my birthday, the superhero is a FRICKING SUPERHERO!  A GOOD GUY.  Or gal in this case.  My son is fine with it.  No murders.  Indeed it's a remarkably peaceful flick.

Sadly by all accounts the new one is a muddle at best.  I may catch it on streaming at some point but whatever lesson the producers should have learned from WW was lost.  Maybe GET A NEW DIRECTOR to take over completely?  Yeah, do that.  Zack is amazing, but he's not clicking these days as director.  Make him EP, let him write. But it's time for new blood in the big chair.  WW's Patty Jenkins showed that.  Frankly if you look at Watchmen or esp. Sucker Punch, you can really see how little appeal Snyder is going to have.  He's a bit disturbed.  

Contrast this with the MCU, where the films even if violent are generally fun and light hearted.  They're enjoyable.  You don't feel like you're being judged or attacked.  That's the reason why Marvel, with superheroes way, way WAY down the chain from the likes of Supes or Batman nevertheless trounce DC.  They are fun to watch.  You don't feel like you're stuck on a train listening to a strange guy prattle on about how his idea for an ultra-brutal Superman reboot will keep all the normies away.  

Anyway, to the extent I'm any guide, the reason for poor performance is clear--poorly written films that take themselves way too seriously and alienate family audiences.  Which leaves you with ardent fans--mostly male--who go to DC movies.  Thus the lower dollar figures.  That would be FINE for a low to mid budget horror or action flick.  But not for these budgets.  So DC is going to have to retool or just fold up its movies.  

[Darth Logos]

OMFG!!! I am currently watching HISHE superhero compilation and the animation on the mouths just reminded me of the bad moustache CGI in Justice League. Only done way better. Seriously, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAkbCGNbvw8&t=216s

Damn you, Knox. I have accomplished precisely nothing in the last half hour.

[Darth Knox]

Damn you, Knox. I have accomplished precisely nothing in the last half hour.

We aim to please 

[Darth Knox]

OMFG!!! I am currently watching HISHE superhero compilation and the animation on the mouths just reminded me of the bad moustache CGI in Justice League. Only done way better. Seriously, check it out:

I've just noticed that the original HISHE video I posted on this thread seems to have changed. Here is the one I actually posted:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNjhtHyihJ0" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNjhtHyihJ0</a>