Eternals opens with USD 71 million, but audience response is mixed

NEW YORK (AP) – “Eternal” One of Marvel’s most ambitious efforts to expand its superhero universe, it hit theaters with about $ 71 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates.

By the box office standards of most studios, the opening was enviable. Only three other films have debuted better during the pandemic: “Black Widow” ($ 80.3 million), “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” ($ 75.3 million), and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage “($ 90 million). But for Marvel’s well-oiled blockbuster machine, the release of “Eternals” somehow constituted a bump in the road in an incomparable 26-movie streak.

Going into the weekend, the forecasts had been only slightly higher, about $ 75 million nationally. More concerning for Walt Disney Co. was the mixed audience response to Chloé Zhao’s 157-minute film about an immortal race of superheroes. The film is the first in Marvel’s “cinematic universe.” to rank “rotten” in Rotten Tomatoes aggregate critical score, with only 47% of reviews considered positive. The public also gave it a lower rating: a CinemaScore “B” – than any previous MCU entry.

But from the beginning, “Eternals” was a less drawn direction for Marvel. By hiring Zhao, whose “Nomadland” earlier this year won Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards, the comic book factory took advantage of a praised filmmaker more associated with artistic realism than with computer-generated spectacle.

The story also features a lesser-known alien class of superheroes, whose existence spans the entire history of mankind. With a packed and diverse cast that includes Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, and Kumail Nanjiani, “Eternals” dared to perform numerous performances, including the MCU’s first deaf superhero in Lauren Ridloff and the first-ever superhero sex scene, untested before in the franchise.

David A. Gross, who runs film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research, estimates that negative reception for “Eternals” cost him a modest 10% at the box office. He still believes that superhero movies are driving the recovery of theaters. Marvel movies represent the first four openings of the pandemic.

“‘Eternals’ is by no means a problem,” Gross said in an email. “The movie doesn’t connect in the way all other Marvel movies have, but the box office performance is strong and maintaining the business level of October.”

Eternals, which cost about $ 200 million to produce, opened strongly abroad and grossed $ 90.7 million in 46 international territories. However, the film was not released in China and is not expected to be granted a release in the future despite being directed by a Chinese-born filmmaker. Marvel’s previous release, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” the studio’s first Asian superhero film, has also not received permission to release in China.

The reasons for the refusal are unclear, but China vigorously censors the films it approves for release. Relations between the United States and China have become tenser in recent years. It has also been widely noted that Zhao said in a 2013 interview that China is “where there are lies everywhere.” In April, his Oscars were not reported by China’s state media and mentioned.

The other big new release of the weekend was “Spencer” starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana. The acclaimed drama, which is expected to earn Stewart his first Oscar nomination, launched in 996 locations and grossed $ 2.1 million for Neon.

The rest of the main draws of the weekend were carry-overs.

In its third opening weekend, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic “Dune” grossed $ 7.6 million for a cumulative total of $ 83.9 million. Warner Bros., which has announced a sequel to “Dune”, released the film simultaneously on HBO Max.

MGM and United Artists Releasing’s James Bond entry “No Time to Die” grossed $ 6.1 million in its fifth launch weekend, taking it’s domestic gross to $ 143.2 million. After 31 days exclusively in theaters, much shorter than the three months most Bond films have had on the big screen before being available in the home, “No Time To Die” will premiere on video-on-demand on Tuesday for $ 20 rent.

Estimated ticket sales Friday through Sunday at theaters in the US and Canada, according to Comscore. Final national figures will be released on Monday.

1. “Eternals,” $ 71 million.

2. “Dune,” $ 7.6 million.

3. “No Time to Die,” $ 6.2 million.

4. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” $ 4.5 million.

5. “Ron’s Gone Wrong,” $ 3.6 million.

6. “The French Dispatch,” $ 2.6 million.

7. “Halloween Kills,” $ 2.4 million.

8. “Spencer,” $ 2.1 million.

9. “Antlers,” $ 2 million.

10. “Last Night in Soho,” $ 1.8 million.