Has It Begun?... (a commentary on the present state of SW)
May 27, 2018 19:33:03 GMT
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Post by Waxer-n-boil on May 27, 2018 19:33:03 GMT
They called the fanbase backlash a tiny but loud sliver of the SW fanbase. They called us vocal nerds! They called us bitter misogynists! They called us an insignificant minority who over-represented themselves! We were supposedly dinosaurs best ignored or labeled for the multitude of stereotyped faults which were supposed to be our motives.
The Rotten Tomatoes score for TLJ was supposed to be artificially lowered. It was supposed to be deliberately planned and coordinated by a small group of grumpy trolls venting their misogyny against female SW characters, especially Rey. There was no real backlash.
Well the domestic numbers have come in for the newest SW film following TLJ, Han Solo: A Star Wars Story. It's well below Disney-LucasFilm's anticipated take-in range. It's even $17 million below what Disney set as the floor! I think this is clear evidence that the fanbase backlash over some of the "character and storytelling formulas" (as opposed to the accusations of misogyny) is real. And it's having a definite impact at the box office.
Disney and devoted Sequel Trilogy diehards will obviously start lining up defenses to try to explain why the low box office numbers are not from the result of fanbase backlash. In fact it's already starting to happen from pro-Disney SW film critics...
'Solo' isn't Flying So High, Delivering Soft Memorial Day Weekend Debut
by Brad Brevet
May 27 - Disney and Lucasfilms's Solo: A Star Wars Story topped the Memorial Day holiday weekend box office, but the film fell well short of expectations, raising a few valid questions. Was it too soon to release another Star Wars movie five months after the last installment and was the competition just too stiff from the likes of Deadpool 2 and Disney's own Avengers: Infinity War?
Some other excuses popping up: Han Solo was never that popular of a SW character anyway; it's an anthology (not an episodic) movie; etc. Let me explain why I don't think that any of those excuses are valid.
While it is true that a considerable segment of the fanbase are not that emotionally invested in the "non-Force using" characters, Han Solo is still the most popular character of that group, with Boba Fett and Leia (depending on if you consider her a Force user or not) being in the argument. So to say that there isn't a demographic for this character (as well as Chewbacca and Lando) is just not supported. Further evidence that argues against this excuse is the fact that Rogue One's opening weekend (domestic) is double what the Han Solo movie's is, and the vast majority of those characters didn't even have a history or following within the franchise! How does a SW movie nobody even knew the characters, double up on Han Solo?!?
The excuses of Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity War cutting into the Han Solo movie's profits come off as somewhat unsupported as well. While you can make an argument for Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War has leveled off into a considerable drop off. And it is unlikely it's present box office take-in is stealing from Han Solo: A Star Wars Story. It seems alienated fans are the biggest reason for low numbers.
So... have box office consequences of the fanbase backlash begun?
The Rotten Tomatoes score for TLJ was supposed to be artificially lowered. It was supposed to be deliberately planned and coordinated by a small group of grumpy trolls venting their misogyny against female SW characters, especially Rey. There was no real backlash.
Well the domestic numbers have come in for the newest SW film following TLJ, Han Solo: A Star Wars Story. It's well below Disney-LucasFilm's anticipated take-in range. It's even $17 million below what Disney set as the floor! I think this is clear evidence that the fanbase backlash over some of the "character and storytelling formulas" (as opposed to the accusations of misogyny) is real. And it's having a definite impact at the box office.
Disney and devoted Sequel Trilogy diehards will obviously start lining up defenses to try to explain why the low box office numbers are not from the result of fanbase backlash. In fact it's already starting to happen from pro-Disney SW film critics...
'Solo' isn't Flying So High, Delivering Soft Memorial Day Weekend Debut
by Brad Brevet
May 27 - Disney and Lucasfilms's Solo: A Star Wars Story topped the Memorial Day holiday weekend box office, but the film fell well short of expectations, raising a few valid questions. Was it too soon to release another Star Wars movie five months after the last installment and was the competition just too stiff from the likes of Deadpool 2 and Disney's own Avengers: Infinity War?
Some other excuses popping up: Han Solo was never that popular of a SW character anyway; it's an anthology (not an episodic) movie; etc. Let me explain why I don't think that any of those excuses are valid.
While it is true that a considerable segment of the fanbase are not that emotionally invested in the "non-Force using" characters, Han Solo is still the most popular character of that group, with Boba Fett and Leia (depending on if you consider her a Force user or not) being in the argument. So to say that there isn't a demographic for this character (as well as Chewbacca and Lando) is just not supported. Further evidence that argues against this excuse is the fact that Rogue One's opening weekend (domestic) is double what the Han Solo movie's is, and the vast majority of those characters didn't even have a history or following within the franchise! How does a SW movie nobody even knew the characters, double up on Han Solo?!?
The excuses of Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity War cutting into the Han Solo movie's profits come off as somewhat unsupported as well. While you can make an argument for Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War has leveled off into a considerable drop off. And it is unlikely it's present box office take-in is stealing from Han Solo: A Star Wars Story. It seems alienated fans are the biggest reason for low numbers.
So... have box office consequences of the fanbase backlash begun?
