In a world where box office numbers cast long shadows, the media’s flashlight seems curiously selective, illuminating some while leaving others in the dark. Enter ‘The Marvels’, a film that not only leaped tall buildings in a single weekend but also managed to trip over the media’s double standards.
A Tale of Two Box Offices
‘The Marvels’, a cinematic chorus led by women and helmed by Nia DaCosta, earned a robust $47 million on its opening weekend. Across town, ‘Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom’ made a splash with a less heroic $27 million. Yet, if media headlines were our only guide, we’d be forgiven for thinking ‘The Marvels’ was the box office equivalent of Atlantis: a mythical disappointment.
Variety: The Critic of Critics
Variety, it seems, has found its villain in ‘The Marvels’, casting the film in a light so sinister, you’d think it had single-handedly snapped away half the universe’s ticket sales. “MCU’s Box Office Bulletproof Armor Disintegrates with ‘The Marvels’,” cries one headline, as if a $47 million debut was akin to donning a cape made of kryptonite.
Meanwhile, ‘Aquaman 2’ is treated with all the tenderness of a newborn sea creature, its lower earnings cushioned by the softest of media critiques. “Sinks With $40 Million Debut,” reads one headline, the word “sinks” presumably meant to evoke a gentle submersion rather than a plummet into the abyss.
Rotten Tomatoes or Rotten Perspectives?
Critical scores on Rotten Tomatoes paint their own picture: ‘The Marvels‘ sits comfortably with the masses at 83%, while ‘Aquaman 2‘ manages to keep its head above water with a 78% audience score, despite critics giving it a less enthusiastic 36%. But don’t let numbers fool you; in the land of selective media scrutiny, it’s not the scores that count, but the narrative they’re spun into.
Deadline’s Double-Edged Sword
Deadline, not to be outdone, has wielded its pen with the precision of a fencer, parrying any positive spin on ‘The Marvels’ with headlines that bemoan its box office as the “lowest ever for a Disney MCU offshore & WW opening.” One must admire the linguistic gymnastics required to turn a $110M global opening into a narrative of woe.
And what of ‘Wonka’, you ask? Ah, ‘Wonka’ is the media’s golden ticket, its $39 million debut wrapped in layers of adoration, no mention of sinking, swimming, or capsizing to be found. It appears that some films are coated in Teflon, while others are handed anvils.
Final Thoughts
As the final credits roll on this saga of unequal media narratives, one can’t help but marvel (pun intended) at the stark contrast in reception. The treatment of ‘The Marvels’ versus ‘Aquaman 2’ is less about numbers and more about the narrative, laced with the insidious undercurrents of sexism and racism that still plague our society.
The media’s magnifying glass seems to burn hotter when focused on ‘The Marvels’, a film daring to feature powerful women and helmed by a Black woman director. In this light, the term ‘misogynoir’ emerges not just as a buzzword, but as a poignant descriptor of the intersection where sexism and racism meet, casting a long, biased shadow over ‘The Marvels’.
This isn’t just a story about superheroes and sequels; it’s a reflection of a larger battle against entrenched prejudices that affect not just box office tallies but the very fabric of inclusivity in the entertainment industry. In the end, the true superpower might just be the ability to see beyond the capes and cowls to the heart of the issue: a need for a media narrative that uplifts rather than undermines, that champions diversity instead of casting it as the villain.
As we look towards the horizon, let’s hope for a sequel where ‘The Marvels’ of the world are not prejudged by the color of their heroes or the gender of their directors, but by the content of their character… and perhaps, just maybe, their cinematic merit.
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