Days of Future Past The Official X-Men: First Class Box Office Discussion Thread!

[SuperSoldier985]

It's the only superhero movie to date to which i'm contemplating a fourth visit.

 

[conaniscool]

Agreed. That was the one Cyclops scene we got where he felt like Cyclops. Rest of the movies he had no personality and was just a jerk all the time. He had no other character other than that! Really bugs me. A lot of the good aspects of Cyclops were given directly to Wolverine over the series, most in particular X3. That move I feel hurt both characters in some regard (Wolverine less so than Cyclops).

Actually, Cyclops seemed pretty cool and laid back in the movies. He just didn't get any screen time.

 

[josh8]

Vaughn cooked up the X3 story with the writers, cast most of the new characters (except for Ellen Page) and then quit like 3 weeks before filming started. Ratner was brought in at the last second to help turning the wheel with the oil can to make the release date.

So Vaughn can trash-talk all he wants, but he bares a big chunk of responsbility for The Last Stand as great as First Class turned out.

Stop falling back on the fanboy "It's all Ratner's fault!" BS and do some research, kiddos.

I'm perfectly aware of what happened, thank you very much. If Ratner was a competent director, it would have shown in the movie and it did not. He damaged the reputation of the movie and there is no denying it.

And I was generous in my original statement. I only said he was partly to blame, so your accusation that I'm on the "It's all Ratner's fault" bandwagon is already negated. Maybe you should be the one paying more attention.

 

[TheVileOne]

Disappointing opening weekend. Historically the X-Men movies also flame out after the first weekend so it is not looking good right now for the second weekend but we shall see.

Ultimately I think making a prequel was a mistake. They should've made a fourth movie instead and try to fix the problems of X-Men 3. I feel they took the lazy wayout.

I honestly don't really care about how it all started because IMHO it was all pretty obvious. Magneto and Xavier were clearly friends and allies at one point. They worked together before and something happened that drove a rift and they went down separate paths. Mystique is basically Magneto's second-in-command and close friend and confidante. I don't really care to see a prequel. I want to see new stories that advance and progress the story.

To me this movie is like in a drama TV series where they flash back to years earlier to show the origins of other characters or side characters. I think its cute to do it once in a while but I think this would've been OK as a flashback sequence in a bigger movie cut down to about 10-15 minutes.

 

[danoyse]

I'm perfectly aware of what happened, thank you very much. If Ratner was a competent director, it would have shown in the movie and it did not. He damaged the reputation of the movie and there is no denying it.

And I was generous in my original statement. I only said he was partly to blame, so your accusation that I'm on the "It's all Ratner's fault" bandwagon is already negated. Maybe you should be the one paying more attention.

How about calming down the attitude a bit?

 

[TheVileOne]

Well Vaughn finally got the chance to do his X-Men movie and its not going off very well.

Still I think a prequel 2 years removed from the abomination that was X-Men: Origins Wolverine was a bad idea.

Should've made a true sequel and used all that money to open the world up more.

 

[Marvin]

Well Vaughn finally got the chance to do his X-Men movie and its not going off very well.

Still I think a prequel 2 years removed from the abomination that was X-Men: Origins Wolverine was a bad idea.

Should've made a true sequel and used all that money to open the world up more.

huh
Vaughn made a solid X men movie, as solid as there has ever been and it went over very well.

If you think halle barry and hugh jackman being in this would have made any significant difference well that's your opinion. I just don't get how begins was considered a success and this a failure.

if this came out after X2 it would have done gangbusters.
the marketing had people thinking this is origins part two.

 

[TheVileOne]

After X-2? No it wouldn't have because X2 promised a Phoenix saga on film and that was the organic place to go. Get out of here with that nonsense.

Vaughn might've made a solid film but it's doing poorly at the box office. It's going to be in and out.

All this time money and energy should've been focused on sequels to X-Men 3 which Singer was apparently already thinking about and doing story treatments on anyway.

What ticks me off the most is now this is the only way we can see January Jones as Emma Frost. We can't see stories like the X-Men anime and Wolverine and The X-men with Emma Frost as a central character with the modern X-Men team. Unless they do some stupid subplot like she crystalized herself in diamond and reformed 50 years later.

 

[danoyse]

What ticks me off the most is now this is the only way we can see January Jones as Emma Frost.

January Jones was probably the only bad part of the movie. She's beautiful, but she can't act to save herself.

 

[Deaths Head II]

January Jones was probably the only bad part of the movie. She's beautiful, but she can't act to save herself.

Completely agree. I hope this is the last time we see January Jones as Emma. If there is a sequel I pray for a recast.

 

[TheVileOne]

Still would've liked it if she got to play the role in a modrn X-Men film and not a period piece.

 

[mclay18]

True. As much as I was rolling my eyes at parts of it on FX last night...I still watched the whole damn movie.

X3 is totally watchable and entertaining as Hell. Absolutely.

Yeah it's a mess but it isn't the disaster fandom plays it up as.

Thank you guys. I felt like me and a few others were the only ones who didn't think it deserved the backlash it got. Too short? Yes. Poorly scripted? Kinda. Enjoyable? Yes.

But I draw the line at Wolverine. Hugh Jackman was the best thing about that horrible movie. So many missed opportunities and cop-outs. And huge disappointment. I don't think I can ever watch that movie again.

 

[ClarkLuther55]

I think First Class is an excellent movie, but you've got to wonder how they will push forward with sequels to this and market them. They're in a tough place right now, trying to play this as both a prequel and a franchise reboot without really committing to either one. The decision to act like the previous movies mattered, but also set this series in the 1960s, puts heavy restrictions on where they can go with this.

Vaughn has already said that he wants to add only one major character to any First Class sequel. That is a valid artistic choice, and I'd rather a movie focus on character than try to jam in as many new mutants as possible. But can they really make an X-Men series without all the famous and iconic members of the team? No Cyclops, Jean Grey, or Storm. And no Wolverine either, who is clearly this franchise's star in the eyes of the mainstream.

Would Fox see such a series as worth it, financially? Would they mandate that the well-known characters be used, or even abandon this prequel series idea and continue on into the future?

 

[DarknessOfDeath]

I thought January Jones did alright but it was the writing aspect that wasn't good and didn't leave much room for her to work with. Same can be said for a few others who were good but everything in the film was better written and it worked well on-screen.

I really like the relationship between Charlies and Raven. I had no idea they shared a bond. So that was pretty new to me. The friendship between Erik and Charlies also was well done.

 

[danoyse]

I don't think she can act in any time period.

 

[danoyse]

Thank you guys. I felt like me and a few others were the only ones who didn't think it deserved the backlash it got. Too short? Yes. Poorly scripted? Kinda. Enjoyable? Yes.

I watched all 4 of them in one day when I got them on blu-ray for Christmas. And I had a blast.

But I draw the line at Wolverine. Hugh Jackman was the best thing about that horrible movie. So many missed opportunities and cop-outs. And huge disappointment. I don't think I can ever watch that movie again.

Liev was pretty good in that one too.

 

[flickchick85]

All this time money and energy should've been focused on sequels to X-Men 3 which Singer was apparently already thinking about and doing story treatments on anyway.

I had zero interest in seeing a sequel to X-Men 3 when it first came out, and I have zero interest now. The Last Stand damaged my interest in that incarnation of the X-verse beyond repair. I no longer cared about what happened to any of those characters (as portrayed by those actors) or where that story went even the slightest bit. I say First Class sequel, reboot or bust at this point.

 

[Timstuff]

I don't think XFC will be as big of a hit as X3, however I think it should at least match XMOW's box office since it is getting much better word of mouth, and thus will have a much slower dropoff. X3 was hated by many fanboys but well received by the general audience, and it was the biggest movie in the series. Wolverine was the worst reviewed and had the biggest dropoff, but managed to make more than X1 because of its huge opening and massive marketing push. XFC's marketing is not as big as XMOW's but it's getting the best reviews the series has had since X2, and I think that it should have good legs. Realistically I think it will make at least 350 million, but optimistically I think it will make over 400 million.

I think the biggest reason for the muffled opening of this movie is that many audiences still have the stink of XMOW in their noses, but as word spreads that this movie restores the franchise's glory I think we will see a lot of new people going to see it this week. Super 8 is not a serious contender for #1 this week and I think we are looking at a good second week for XFC.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Still would've liked it if she got to play the role in a modrn X-Men film and not a period piece.

Sucks, I know how you feel, I would have preferred to see Gambit as part of the actual X-Men team, rather than just Wolverine's sidekick in a period piece.

But it is what it is. I actually thought Emma was a great character in this.

 

[DarknessOfDeath]

eh but still, the character of Mystique was actually more intriguing and her and Moira made me forget about Frost. Those two were one of the best things in the film but James was amazing as Charlies than I had expected. A lot of things surprised me in the prequel and having not read anything about the film, it helped me enjoy it a lot more.

I have to say that Magneto is one of my favorite characters now. Poor guy, he has been through so much in his life that I can't help but feel sorry for him and you can't blame him for who he is and the kind of man he has become. He had a right to kill Shaw who murdered his mother right in front of him when he was young.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

I think First Class is an excellent movie, but you've got to wonder how they will push forward with sequels to this and market them. They're in a tough place right now, trying to play this as both a prequel and a franchise reboot without really committing to either one. The decision to act like the previous movies mattered, but also set this series in the 1960s, puts heavy restrictions on where they can go with this.

Vaughn has already said that he wants to add only one major character to any First Class sequel. That is a valid artistic choice, and I'd rather a movie focus on character than try to jam in as many new mutants as possible. But can they really make an X-Men series without all the famous and iconic members of the team? No Cyclops, Jean Grey, or Storm. And no Wolverine either, who is clearly this franchise's star in the eyes of the mainstream.

Would Fox see such a series as worth it, financially? Would they mandate that the well-known characters be used, or even abandon this prequel series idea and continue on into the future?

Personally, I think I'm about ready for this franchise to come to an end. Not due to lack of quality - I feel we've gotten 5 great movies out of the deal. But, each movie that gets introduced causes more and more continuity issues with the others, and it's not going to take too many more sequels for this franchise to cluster f--- itself into obscurity as it further meddles up the continuity by directors who "don't want to be beholden" to the previous movies, but do anyways.

Except for a couple villains, like Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister, and Sentinels, pretty much all of the major characters have been portrayed in one way or another. While there are still many big time stories to tell, X-Men: The Last Stand kind of prohibits the series from moving forward creatively, and if they do, it's going to be a situation of the franchise spreading itself too thin (either undoing major events that will make audiences roll their eyes, or proceeding forward without major, core players of the lore), and many of those stories are stories that audiences won't take seriously on the big screen anyways.

Unfortunately for me, I'm pretty much backed into a corner. As far as I know, in order to keep the X-Men rights, Fox needs to keep making movies. So they will keep making movies to hold onto the rights. And if they don't, then X-Men reverts back to Marvel, who will give it the unholy reboot treatment, and probably cluster f--- it into the Marvel Universe and having the X-Men fighting alongside Captain America...

First Class gave some dignity back to the X-Men movie series. I'd love to just see the franchise end on a high note, and let it rest.

 

[Mysteryman]

Anybody want to guess how much it made today?

 

[psylockolussus]

I'm telling you guys it will be hard for this film to reach $150 million alone in America.

And if things gets worse. FOX should just make X-Men 4 instead of X-Men: Second Class.

 

[josh8]

How about calming down the attitude a bit?

Sorry about that, will do. Just had to defend myself a bit.

 

[Catman]

I think the film will have good legs. I saw it Monday afternoon and the theater was half-full. That's not bad for a Monday afternoon, you know.