X-Men Apocalypse is now in theaters, and the financial expectations for the film appear to be underwhelming. Mostly everyone expected for it to be the number one film of the Memorial Day weekend, but being number one doesn’t always translate into being a success.
It would appear that if we were to look at the opening weekends of the most recent comic book movies this year alone, X-Men Apocalypse is the lowest with about $80 million. Captain America: Civil War ($179mil), Batman V Superman ($166 mil), Deadpool ($132mil) all came in higher and made over $100 million for their opening weekends. For more details on how bad this appears to be check out this article that explains it a bit more.
If 20th Century Fox’s own Deadpool movie could earn more profit with a smaller budget, then it simply doesn’t look good for a marquee brand name such the X-Men to perform any less. So let’s explore the most feasible solutions to fix this franchise.
4.) Remove Bryan Singer
Okay let’s not fire him, just re-position him. Bryan Singer was still the one who not only brought the X-Men to life, but saved the franchise after the debacle known as X-Men: The Last Stand. His influence is duly noted and commended for keeping the franchise afloat. However, it’s time for him to get out of this franchise’s director chair.
Instead, I think it would be best if Fox did some reshuffling similar to how Warner Bros/DC did with their latest “disappointment”, Batman V Superman. They made some key adjustments with both Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns by making them executive producers for their franchises. I think it would be the right time for Singer to become an Executive producer so he can still assist in bringing us those wonderful moments that stood out in the X-Men films, but still allow a new vision to take place. Whether you believe that the comic movie genre is fading or not, one thing that always stays consistent (ironically) is change. Fox needs this change-up.
3.) Do More Crossovers
One of the highlights of the Deadpool movie was that they were able to crossover and have some X-Men be in the film. Granted, due to the low budget of the film, they couldn’t afford to have more mutants involved. No matter, it was still a great to know that there was a bit more continuity within the “Fox Marvel Universe”. It opened up some great possibilities such as future cameos, new characters or maybe even new film series to come down the pipeline. (e.g. X-Force or New Mutants)
Disney/Marvel has been doing this for a while already and it’s proven to be an effective move. For example, it was a great move to feature Falcon in a movie like Ant-Man. It helped to elevate the new Ant-Man film, give a secondary character like Falcon more screen time, and provided a good bridge into future movies like Captain America: Civil War.
Bryan Singer has come out and commented on doing things like X-Men & Deadpool (Though this would be tricky), or even X-Men and Fantastic Four (Way too soon given the bad taste from the previous film hasn’t left yet). I think that both of those crossovers could be entirely feasible, but not before you do step #2.
2.) Fox & Marvel Join Forces
For all of the Marvel fans who want to boycott the X-Men so that the rights will revert back to Disney/Marvel, give it up. Fox has no plans in giving up those rights. So it’s a lost cause to beg for that. Instead, what should be hoped for is a deal to be made with Marvel similar to the deal Sony made. Fox could lend the characters’ rights to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel could rehab their characters to the masses. Fox could then just cash in on the rejuvenated burst of interest and churn out all of their new shows with new vigor. Just imagine the Avengers taking on Dr. Doom, or the X-Men taking on Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet, or X-Men vs Avengers.
To Fox’s credit, writer/producer Simon Kinberg did mention that it would be “fun to all team up…one day…some how…together. That could work.” (Click here for the video clip) Fox could now have a fresh start to begin rebuilding. Which brings me to the last step.
1.) Reset EVERYTHING…Again
This should come to no surprise. All the major studios have had to reboot at some point when faced with danger. The key was always when to reboot? Sony jumped the moment The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn’t bring in the returns they were hoping for. If Fox feels the similar level of financial pressure with X-Men Apocalypse’s returns, then NOW would be the perfect time to reboot.
More than ever, Fox has all the incentive in the world to start over given the fact that Hugh Jackman has announced that his next Wolverine movie will be his last portrayal of the character. Rebooting the franchise now would be an ideal time for Fox to introduce a new “Wolverine” character or actor. It would be an even bigger boost if Marvel is willing to help introduce him/her within their shared universe the way they did with Spider Man in Captain America: Civil War.
I am under the assumption that both comic fans and even casual movie fans will be more than forgiving if the X-Men franchise were reset. We have the younger cast in play now. Since they are on the verge of actually becoming a real team, it wouldn’t be far fetched if they kept them on board if a Marvel deal were to be made. Though, I would still contend that Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique may still be an issue. (More on that here: “Is Jennifer Lawrence Ruining the X-Men Franchise?” )
Do you think that these steps would help save Fox’s X-Men? Do you think they need saving at all?