D&D Movie/TV Could D&D/MtG tv/movies replace Superhero movies?

[DEFCON 1]

Most of the "revenue dropped 50%" talk I've heard with regards to the MCU has been about 2nd weekend box office compared to 1st. Thor: Love And Thunder makes X amount of money opening weekend, then the second weekend it makes less than half of that.

But that more than 50% drop-off is relatively meaningless if the opening weekend was absolutely huge. That basically says that anyone who wanted to see it all went opening weekend (probably usually to avoid spoilers), and thus there were less people who needed to see it second weekend.

Films that have really strong second weekends are ones that usually not many people knew much about to begin with and then word-of-mouth drove people to the theater to see it who probably wouldn't have otherwise. Everything, Everywhere, All At Once would be a film like that-- one that opened small but then built up over subsequent weekends as people began hearing about it and wanted to go seek it out.

 

[billd91]

Most of the "revenue dropped 50%" talk I've heard with regards to the MCU has been about 2nd weekend box office compared to 1st. Thor: Love And Thunder makes X amount of money opening weekend, then the second weekend it makes less than half of that.

But that more than 50% drop-off is relatively meaningless if the opening weekend was absolutely huge. That basically says that anyone who wanted to see it all went opening weekend (probably usually to avoid spoilers), and thus there were less people who needed to see it second weekend.

Films that have really strong second weekends are ones that usually not many people knew much about to begin with and then word-of-mouth drove people to the theater to see it who probably wouldn't have otherwise. Everything, Everywhere, All At Once would be a film like that-- one that opened small but then built up over subsequent weekends as people began hearing about it and wanted to go seek it out.

Box Office Mojo isn't showing drops like that for the MCU movies, though. There are drops - there usually are (32% for Dr Strange Multiverse of Madness, nearly 40% for Thor Love and Thunder). Even Top Gun Maverick drops 26%, but it's also doing so from a lower opening weekend than either despite being in more theaters. So Top Gun Maverick is showing an interesting and somewhat different pattern than the MCU outings in that it's got a longer tail than some other movies even though it started from a lower opening night.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Box Office Mojo isn't showing drops like that for the MCU movies, though. There are drops - there usually are (32% for Dr Strange Multiverse of Madness, nearly 40% for Thor Love and Thunder). Even Top Gun Maverick drops 26%, but it's also doing so from a lower opening weekend than either despite being in more theaters. So Top Gun Maverick is showing an interesting and somewhat different pattern than the MCU outings in that it's got a longer tail than some other movies even though it started from a lower opening night.

Was that global or domestic? I thought both Thor and Strange's domestic drops were more than 50%, which is what made me think the original posts about "less than 50%" might've been referencing that. Could be wrong though.

 

[OB1]

I think we've seen a purposeful shift in the MCU in the current saga. With so much content across film and TV, it's not as tightly tied together and consumers can more easily pick and choose which titles they are interested in (similar to comic lines). But when the big crossover events happen, they'll still do huge numbers and then consumers might go back to check out stories they missed after seeing them in the big movie. Disney can afford to do that because the MCU is such a machine in terms of keeping production costs down on projects.

That said, everything in Hollywood cycles, and I do think sci-fi/fantasy is ripe for a resurgence on the big screen. If DaDHAT hits big numbers, it could lead the way to a lot more projects, including more D&D movies, but I doubt we would see Paramount doing 2-3 D&D movies a year anytime soon. At most I could see 1-2 every 2 years, plus a variety of TV shows.

 

[billd91]

Was that global or domestic? I thought both Thor and Strange's domestic drops were more than 50%, which is what made me think the original posts about "less than 50%" might've been referencing that. Could be wrong though.

Domestic.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

The 80s were absolutely a fantasy film golden age. I find it fascinating how good fantasy movie blockbusters practically dropped off the face of cinema after the 90s hit.

I would also add that the 00s were another boom time for fantasy movies: the biggest ones being the LOTR, Harry Potter, Shrek, and Chronicles of Narnia movies. Not to mention Studio Ghibli finally hitting it big in the west, Guillermo del Toro's numerous hits. Then Marvel picked up the baton and superhero movies began ruling the roost.

Well Fantasy movies had a popular run in the 1980s with Conan, Legend, Willow, Dragonheart, Ladyhawke, Krull, Beastmaster, Neverending Story, Gor etc etc

so if the DnD movie is good and with Rings of Power and the Willow sequel on its way, we could indeed be looking at a Fantasy revival that WotC would be wise to cash in on. Maybe not a DnDCU but they should certainly ramp up for some licencing deals

This, definitely. If the D&D movie is going to usher in another golden age of fantasy movies, it has to be good first, on it's own. It'll take multiple successes to stand beside or even topple Marvel (if it's even possible at this point; nothing lasts forever, but the MCU still has a ton of staying power).

Lets get ONE good (or even passable) movie before we talk cinematic universe!