The signs weren’t good beforehand and, sure enough, Dark Phoenix didn’t send off Fox’s X-Men franchise on a high. Reviews tore it to shreds and its box office gross was disappointing, with the movie earning the lowest-opening weekend of any X-film ever. As its cinematic run winds down, however, it’s looking very likely that Dark Phoenix will be the biggest flop of the whole franchise and an even bigger dud than Fantastic Four.
Let’s look at the evidence, shall we? DP is currently showing in 426 domestic theaters, with its overseas showings also drying up. In fact, it was being pulled from cinemas just a couple of weeks after its release due to its box office failure. With opportunities running low, it seems a safe bet that Dark Phoenix will end up making around $250 million, according to Forbes.
A quarter of a billion isn’t too shabby in the grand scheme of things but, for a mega-expensive superhero blockbuster that’s known to come with a $200 million budget, that number is a killer. Forbes calculates that DP only brought back 1.39 times how much it cost to make it. By that metric, it’s even more of a bomb that 2015’s Fantastic Four. Josh Trank’s reboot raked in much less – $168 million worldwide – but its smaller budget of $120 million means it sports a slightly higher ratio.
It’s clear which of the two will go down better amongst the fans, though. After the initial critical kicking it got, X-Men lovers have flocked to Dark Phoenix‘s defense, praising the movie’s darker tone and smaller scale. Fantastic Four, on the other hand, has yet to shake off its label as one of the worst superhero films ever even four years after its arrival.
Tell us, though, which release did you enjoy more? And do you think either one of them received an unfair critical bashing? As always, sound off down below with your thoughts.