{"id":1559111,"date":"2022-07-18T08:08:05","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T12:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1559111"},"modified":"2022-07-18T08:19:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T12:19:41","slug":"woke-is-just-part-of-the-problem-plaguing-the-marvel-cinematic-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/woke-is-just-part-of-the-problem-plaguing-the-marvel-cinematic-universe\/","title":{"rendered":"Woke Is Just Part of the Problem Plaguing the Marvel Cinematic Universe"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwoke-is-just-part-of-the-problem-plaguing-the-marvel-cinematic-universe%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1559111&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p><strong>The Marvel Cinematic Universe could do no wrong in its glory days.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even tepid fare like 2019\u2019s \u201cCaptain Marvel\u201d scored big at the U.S. Box Office ($426 million). Installments like \u201cAvengers: Endgame,\u201d by comparison, bullied past some of the most successful films of all time.<\/p>\n<p>Now? There\u2019s a problem in MCU-ville.<\/p>\n<p>The latest proof? \u201cThor: Love and Thunder\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2022\/07\/box-office-thor-love-and-thunder-paws-of-fury-where-the-crawdads-sing-2-1235064783\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dropped like a stone at the box office<\/a> during its second weekend of release \u2013 against no new competition, either. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/where-the-crawdads-sing-review\/\">\u201cWhere the Crawdads Sing\u201d<\/a> made more than analysts predicted, but it\u2019s still no threat to the MCU\u2019s theatrical dominance.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the numbers in play:<\/p>\n<p>Disney\u2019s Thor: Love and Thunder is having a great fall, with a -68% drop for a second weekend that\u2019s $46M. While the Taika Waititi-directed movie improved beyond its high $130M estimates last weekend into the $144M range, it\u2019s clear those sour audience exits of a B+ CinemaScore and 3 1\/2 stars are taking their toll.<\/p>\n<p>The trend is so profound even rah-rah geek sites like <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/thor-love-thunder-box-office-drop-mcu-trend\/?utm_source=SR-FB-P&#038;utm_medium=Social-Distribution&#038;utm_campaign=SR-FB-P\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Screen Rant are sounding the alarm.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Thor: Love and Thunder is met with a 68% box office drop in its second weekend, which continues a gloomy theatrical trend for Phase 4 of the MCU \u2026 This phase has <strong>struggled to connect<\/strong>\u00a0[emphasis added] with audiences, as it is currently unclear if there is an overarching vision for where these stories are going.<\/p>\n<p>When cheerleading news sites, particularly ones eager to promote the MCU\u2019s inclusion push, peddle that narrative it\u2019s eye opening.<\/p>\n<p>And, as Screen Rant indicated, the \u201cThor\u201d financial droop isn\u2019t an isolated incident. Deadline shares more about the context.<\/p>\n<p>Thor\u2018s second weekend drop ranks among the MCU\u2019s worst, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (-67%) and Black Widow (-68%). Forget about Spider-Man: No Way Home\u2018s -68% second drop. That\u2019s largely due to Christmas, and everyone knows that Sony\/MCU title was making money hand over fist on a daily basis. It\u2019s an outlier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Way Home\u201d had a gargantuan opening late last year, and the fan-friendly film enjoyed Betty Grable box office legs (Mary Hart? Carrie Underwood?).<\/p>\n<p>Few think \u201cThor\u201d will duplicate Spidey\u2019s\u201d longevity.<\/p>\n<p>And lest we forget last year\u2019s \u201cEternals,\u201d a Phase 4 entry that misfired on multiple fronts. Director Chloe Zhao\u2019s dud generated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\/title\/tt9032400\/?ref_=bo_se_r_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">just $164 million<\/a>, although the pandemic clearly hurt its bottom line. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/eternals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Critics were equally unkind.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/tim-burton-batman-made-mcu\/\"><strong>RELATED: How Tim Burton\u2019s \u2018Bat\u2019 Pave the Way for the MCU<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On the surface, the MCU seems in solid shape. The new \u201cThor\u201d had a massive opening weekend, and \u201cDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness\u201d capped its box office run with a $411 million tally.<\/p>\n<p>Most movie studios would kill for those results.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers still offer warning signs for Disney, the MCU stewards. Critics, many of whom fawned over the earlier superhero fare, can only offer tepid praise for the newer releases.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rotten Tomatoes score for \u201cDoctor Strange?\u201d 89 percent fresh. \u201cMultiverse of Madness?\u201d 74 percent fresh<\/li>\n<li>Rotten Tomatoes score for \u201cThor: Ragnarok?\u201d 93 percent fresh. \u201cLove and Thunder?\u201d 68 percent fresh<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Phase 4 films aren\u2019t generating the kind of fan love that propelled the saga ever since Robert Downey, Jr. put on that iron suit in 2008.<\/p>\n<p>What happened?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/kevin-feige-china-shang-chi\/\"><strong>RELATED: MCU Chief Begs China to Release \u2018Shang Chi\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s undeniable that woke plays a role in the franchise downgrade, but it\u2019s hardly the only reason for the MCU\u2019s stumbles.<\/p>\n<p>You could blame less familiar characters for the downturn. Few people outside the Comic-Con crowd could name a single Eternal character before that film dropped. Yet the equally obscure \u201cShang Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings\u201d earned better reviews and out-muscled \u201cEternals\u201d at the box office.<\/p>\n<p>And the most recent MCU films featured fan favorites like Doctor Strange and Thor, still played by the original, beloved stars.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CfjliDehYKh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&#038;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Still, MCU maestro <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/kevin-feige-chris-evans-twitter-woke\/\">Kevin Feige put a heavy emphasis on woke<\/a> for the fourth chapter in the superhero saga. And he\u2019s delivered on his pledge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEternals\u201d took a diverse superhero lineup and made it even more inclusive. \u201cLove and Thunder\u201d gives lip service to not one but two same-sex themes. \u201cMultiverse of Madness\u201d similarly adds a same-sex couple into the storytelling mix.<\/p>\n<p>None of this should matter, on paper.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s notable that many woke projects either fail or fail to live up to the hype. Think \u201cCharlie\u2019s Angels,\u201d \u201cMen in Black: International,\u201d \u201cTerminator: Dark Fate\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/lightyear-same-sex-kiss-tim-allen-box-office\/\">Lightyear<\/a>\u201d to name a few examples.<\/p>\n<p>Diversity can be both healthy and beneficial to a film franchise.\u00a0The \u201cFast &#038; Furious\u201d franchise remains aggressively inclusive, but almost no one complains because the saga delivers on his high-octane formula. Nor does it draw attention to its casting choices.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s diverse, not woke.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CTiAZrIJ9sQ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&#038;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We\u2019ve seen several examples of woke movies that focused more on progressive platitudes than rock \u2018em, sock \u2018em entertainment. The creative drop between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/how-feminism-crushed-neighbors-2\/\">\u201cNeighbors\u201d and \u201cNeighbors 2: Sorority Rules\u201d<\/a> is a textbook example. The 2016 \u201cGhostbusters\u201d reboot burned more calories on its feminist bona fides than crafting killer jokes.<\/p>\n<p>it\u2019s why woke-free films like \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/spider-man-no-way-home-review\/\">Spider-Man: No Way Home<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/top-gun-maverick-patriotic-america\/\">Top Gun: Maverick<\/a>\u201d stood out in a crowded marketplace.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also obvious that Phase 4 lacks a cohesive spirit, let alone a prime directive. The earlier MCU films were building up to the Thanos challenge. They also cleverly overlapped to reinforce the \u201cuniverse\u201d in play.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A cameo here, a post-credit sequence there, and the big picture slow came into focus.<\/p>\n<p>The Phase 4 films are all over the cultural map.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlack Widow\u201d felt like a Jason Bourne adventure. \u201cThor: Love and Thunder\u201d flirted with Adam West\u2019s \u201cPow! Bam!\u201d brand of superheroics. \u201cShang Chi\u201d delivered the most traditional MCU thrills with a slick Eastern flourish.<\/p>\n<p>The less we think about the dour \u201cEternals,\u201d the better.<\/p>\n<p>Where\u2019s the master plan, the villain lurking in the shadows who can take the baton from Thanos?<\/p>\n<p>The quest to create more, more more content in our streaming age isn\u2019t helping the MCU, either. We\u2019re given a new \u201cStar Wars\u201d series every few months, and something similar applies to the MCU. There\u2019s too much product right now, and none of it is particularly spellbinding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/wandavision-review\/\">WandaVision<\/a>\u201d proved bold and original, no doubt, but it lacks the addictive nature of a \u201cCaptain America: Civil War\u201d or \u201cGuardians of the Galaxy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bottom line?<\/p>\n<p>The MCU is no longer special. Fans don\u2019t expect greatness from each new product, and they spend most of their energy debating all the super-flaws on YouTube and social media.<\/p>\n<p>The franchise hasn\u2019t fallen as dramatically as the \u201cStar Wars\u201d theatrical model, now in dry dock seeking extensive repairs.<\/p>\n<p>The days of huge, de facto opening weekends for new MCU projects may soon be over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Marvel Cinematic Universe could do no wrong in its glory days. Even tepid fare like 2019\u2019s \u201cCaptain Marvel\u201d scored big at the U.S. Box Office ($426 million). Installments like<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1559111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1559111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1559111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1559111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1559111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1559111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1559111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}