Marvel's holding a ticking time bomb
And more 'Suits' on the way, sort of
What to know
The Marvels might be a ticking time bomb… And Disney should be worried. We're getting our first look at early box office tracking for the sequel — and it's bad. The Flash level bad. Box Office Pro predicts an opening weekend of just $50-75 million, and a total domestic haul between $121M and $189M. Pre-sales are reportedly stunningly low for a Marvel movie. It's currently trending 69% behind the pace of Guardians 3, 72% behind Ant-Man 3, and 42% behind Eternals. Eternals! Box office pro says social media chatter is also muted. There are also the outside factors that could hinder The Marvels’ performance, like the possibility of the actors strike stretching on and The Hunger Games prequel and Disney's own Wish opening in the immediate weeks after The Marvels. All this means The Marvels might have a hard road to profitability. Per World of Reel, The Marvels has a budget of $273 million — and will only break even if it makes $680 million worldwide. The Flash maxed out at $270.6M, while Ant-Man 3 made $476M total. If The Marvels does indeed flop, it might be one of the biggest sequel drop offs ever. The original made $1.13B worldwide, but had the benefit of being released during peak Marvel fever, between Infinity War and Endgame. I've written in the past explaining why superhero fatigue real. My argument is that audiences are no longer turning out for every super hero movie by default, but instead only showing interest in what they've heard or feel will be good. Bad reviews could certainly sink The Marvels. So to the people who still don't believe in super hero fatigue. Are you not convinced? 😮
Suits “offshoot” series in the works for NBCUniversal… Because of course it is. Considering the numbers Suits did this summer (and now fall), NBCU would have been silly not to get creator Aaron Korsh to do more. What’s cool is that this won’t be a spinoff, reboot, or sequel, but instead a new show—potentially set in LA—that’s set in the same universe as Suits. If I had to guess they’ll probably title it Suits: something. What’s interesting is we’ll get to see just how well a legacy streaming phenomenon can convert into viewers of a new series. Could be a big boon for Peacock. 🦚
Melissa McBride joining season 2 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon… Very surprising turn of events considering the spin-off was supposed to be a two-hander with Norman Reedus and McBride, but in April 2022, McBride dropped out. Well, I guess the actress who played Carol for a decade plus on The Walking Dead just couldn’t stay away from the franchise. I’ve heard very good things about this spin off, by the way, which is currently airing on its first season on AMC. 🧟
SAG-AFTRA canceled Friday picketing due to safety concerns… There weren’t any specific threats, but it seems the union is being overly cautious due to the war between Israel and Hamas. 🪧
Darren Aronofsky says new Vegas Sphere film allows people to see nature in a way they never have before… Another way to see nature? By going outside. 🌲
What’s new
The Fall of the House of Usher — Oct 12 | Netflix horror miniseries | Ⓜ️ 75
Frasier — Oct 12 | Paramount+ sitcom sequel series | Ⓜ️ 57
Lessons in Chemistry — Oct 13 | Apple TV+ drama miniseries | Ⓜ️ 71
Goosebumps — Oct 13 | Disney+ family horror series | Ⓜ️ 63
Returning: SNL s49, Rick and Morty s7
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!