X-Men: Dark Phoenix is expected to take a major loss at the box-office.
On Sunday, Deadline reported that the latest installment in the X-Men franchise is set to lose between $100-120 million. This comes after Dark Phoenix generated just $33 million in ticket sales over its opening weekend, making it the worst-performing film in the franchise's history. Though international markets helped Dark Phoenix become no. 1 movie in the world, the film still only grossed $140 million globally. And since the movie's production costs reportedly exceeded $350 million (including P&A and reshoots), Fox is expected to take a major hit. One expert told Deadline that the film could make as a little as $285 million.
The weak box office comes as no surprise, after the Sophie Turner-starring film was met with a horrendous response from both fans and critics. It currently sits at a putrid 22% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dark Phoenix should have been the franchise's triumphant finale, after Disney acquired the X-Men IP from Fox. It's possible that the cloud created by the looming merger impacted Dark Phoenix's production, which is said to have been less than smooth. This is not the first time Fox's folded under pressure. 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse was also expected to be a blockbuster smash, but also fizzled both critically and commercially. But with Marvel now in the driver's seat, the X-Men franchise is expected to get a major facelift. Though the studio still hasn't announced plans to incorporate the X-Men into the MCU, once the debris from Dark Phoenix clears, we should know more.
