Barbie vs Blue Beetle Box Office Show

It’s pink and blue at the box office this weekend.

As “Barbie” continues its historic run in theaters, a little-known superhero named “Blue Beetle” is trying to top the charts this weekend.

With $3.3 million from Thursday night previews, Warner Bros. Discovery’s The latest film based on the DC Comics character is expected to gross between $22 million and $32 million during its domestic debut.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ “Barbie,” which has earned $545 million domestically since late July, is expected to earn $17-22 million in its fifth weekend.

“The Blue Beetle” arrives in theaters after several DC Comics-based films flopped at the box office and the studio underwent a major creative regime change.

“The four films released this year are orphans,” said Syracuse University professor and pop culture expert Robert Thompson, referring to DC’s “Shazam! Wrath of the Gods,” “The Flash,” “Blue Beetle” and “Blue Beetle.” the upcoming “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.”

“They’re part of an old universe that’s about to be completely rebooted. (Warner Bros.) has to promote them, they want them to be a big hit, obviously, but there’s a sense that they’re part of the old guard,” Thompson said.

And so far, the audience has not come to these films. “Shazam! Wrath of the Gods” grossed a total of $57.6 million domestically, while “The Flash” grossed just over $100 million in the US and Canada.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said that these performances show the “apathy” of the audience.

When “Blue Beetle” first entered development in 2018, Jaime Reyes’ character, the man behind the moniker, had the potential to cross paths with other popular DC heroes. However, turnover at the studio, largely due to the merger of Warner Media and Discovery, has put the hero’s future in question.

As superhero movies have become more popular in the cultural zeitgeist, much of the appeal of the big franchises has been the interconnectedness of the stories. That is why Disney’s Marvel Studios was able to introduce obscure comic book characters like Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Moon Knight into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turn them into fan favorites.

Blue Beetle won’t be able to generate much excitement at the box office without promising interactions with Justice League veterans like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash or Aquaman.

Sure, standalone, unrelated movies have been successful for DC in the recent past, but they’ve featured well-known characters like Batman and the Joker.

“We’re in limbo right now,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “In a world where superheroes are no longer a novelty, it’s going to be a tough sell for a lot of people.”

Robbins said “Blue Beetle,” based on a Mexican-American family, could benefit from an influx of Hispanic moviegoers, just as Marvel’s “Black Panther” drew black moviegoers who weren’t fans of the comics to see the film. movie.

Critics have praised Xolo Mariduena’s magnetic performance as the titular character and how the film focuses on a family-oriented protagonist rather than a lone gunman.

“Blue Beetle” still falls into some old trappings of past superhero movies, including chaotic, repetitive CGI fight sequences, but some say DC should try to keep Mariduena and Blue Beetle on its roster as the course is corrected over the next few years. .

“A movie like ‘Blue Beetle’ can benefit from word of mouth,” Dergarabedian said. “The decision for the latest DC entry should be made after the first three weeks, not the first three days in theaters.”

Blue Beetle’s biggest battle is earning enough at the box office to justify its $125 million budget and any additional marketing costs the studio spends.

That’s lower than The Flash’s $200 million budget, which limited its global theatrical run to $268.5 million. After marketing costs and splitting ticket receipts with theaters, the film won’t even break even for the studio.

Similar concerns abound for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, slated for release in December. The sequel had a budget of around $205 million, but suffered production costs from three separate resource rounds and the pandemic. While many blockbusters resort to reshoots to enhance dialogue or add scenes to clarify beats within the film, very few require additional photography.

Many of the film’s problems stemmed from the conflicting creative directions the studio’s previous heads wanted for the overall DC Extended Universe. Now, the James Gunn and Peter Safran-helmed film appears to be undergoing its latest series of changes.

However, Gunn and Safran’s tenure doesn’t guarantee a secure future for DC Studios, Thompson said.

“I don’t think there’s going to be this kind of miracle all of a sudden,” he said, noting that despite the pair’s pedigree in the industry, including Gunn’s success with three Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel, it won’t happen right away. Remove years of hit or miss movies from DC and the money on the audience.

“That’s pretty optimistic,” Thompson said.