Into the Multiverse of Meh
Greetings, dear readers, from the coast of Maine, where I will be writing this newsletter for the next few weeks. Although many of you Californians will claim your state has the lock on natural beauty, a point I will not dispute. Maine, however, has the lock on magic. There is just something so endlessly magical about this place. It's difficult for me to put it into words (that's a first), but one has to experience it to appreciate it. There is no way, though, I'm going to tell you where I am less this place becomes overwhelmed with people (Ew.)
Now, on to this week's business.
Thor: Love and Thunder opened to a respectable and enviable $145 million, slightly under the tracking of $150 million. Yet, still a very impressive result. However, there is an underlying issue that Marvel will have to face sooner rather than later. Let's go the Cinemascores for the last three Marvel theatrical releases:
Thor: Love and Thunder: B+ which is incidentally lower than the much-maligned Thor: Dark Work (A-)
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness: B+
The Eternals: B (lowest score in MCU History)
Compared with some of the previous MCU Films:
Captain America: Civil War: A
The Avengers: Endgame: A+
Now, I'll be the first to admit that the science behind Cinemascore is not perfect, but typically, you want an A or A+ if you're movie is going to have what we in the industry like to call "legs." (i.e., a long successful run in the theaters.) Thus, Thor's B+ does not bode well for week 2, but we shall see if that hypothesis holds after this weekend.
I bring all this up to show that Marvel will have to confront a minor issue before it becomes a real problem later: fatigue. Full disclosure, I have not yet seen the latest Thor, and I'm only part of the way through Dr. Strange (Eternals didn't seem worth the effort.) I confess that I've begun to get slightly bored with the stories, and judging by the CinemaScores; I'm not necessarily alone. Again, MCU's box office and, for the matter streaming numbers on Disney+ are the envy of all the industry. Any studio would kill for these opening weekend numbers, but Kevin Feige (head of Marvel Entertainment) is a brilliant and savvy executive. He has to have noticed some troubling trends in their last few releases. So what gives?
Aside from the challenges of reinventing the comic-book narrative (Bad Guy wants to destroy the world, the hero comes and saves the day), I think Marvel is struggling with audiences viewing all of these movies as one-offs. What made the first 12 years of the MCU so brilliant was they were all building to something, which was ultimately The Avengers. One only has to look at the DC Universe and the last Star Wars Trilogy to appreciate the MCU's strategy. There are some good movies in there, but nowhere near the quality of MCU. Captain America: Winter Soldier is not just an excellent comic book movie; it's just a great movie. Anyway, I think the key to continued Marvel success is to begin building anew.
I know it's easy for me to sit here and say such things, but I think there is something to glean from their previous experience. I'm aware that Marvel may have something brewing now that might be building to an Avengers-like conclusion, but I'd say they need to get on it sooner rather than later. Of course, the big question remains what can be as good as building The Avengers? Honestly, I don't have an easy answer to that question. But now that Marvel has control over all the Fox Marvel properties (Fantastic Four, The X-Men.) There are a plethora of options they can pursue. I would love to see some DC/Marvel mash-up, but I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming. Regardless, Feige and his team have done a brilliant job with the MCU thus far, but the cracks are beginning to show. Let's hope they have a plan in place, but taking the lessons of The Avengers' success would be a great place to start.
Maximum Goodness at HBO
I never tire of watching great trailers; it has been a while since I called one out on this newsletter. While this week in Sean McNulty's The Wakeup (a great place to see the latest and greatest trailers, by the way.) I spotted this gem:
The Last Movie Stars | Official Trailer | HBO Max - YouTube
Now, that is a well-cut piece of material—great music choice and soundbites. Plus, a great idea to open with a brief explanation of the background of the documentary. I'm getting the sense that HBOMax is starting to hit its stride a bit. They have had some good material as of late, and HBO still has it with an impressive haul of Emmy nominations on Tuesday. Given the massive job cuts coming from the WB/Discovery merger, it'll be interesting to see if that mojo holds. Regardless, I'll be watching The Last Movie Stars come July 21st! Great job, HBOMax marketers; I'm hooked.
Pages from the Commonplace Book
We shift away from the Founders to another figure who played a significant role in what many historians call our Second Founding: Ulysses S. Grant.
"I am glad to say that while there is much unblushing wickedness in this world, yet there is compensating goodness of the soul."
Such simple words from a giant among historical figures. I'm glad he has enjoyed a renaissance in the minds of the public as of late. I highly recommend Ron Chernow's Grant for a wonderfully detailed look at a somewhat simple man who rose to the occasion to save his country from ruin. Perhaps Lin Manuel's next musical will be about him? (Ron Chernow wrote the biography on which the musical Hamilton is based.)
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