News came yesterday of the final box office take of Justice League aaaaaannnnddddd… things aren’t all that great:
Justice League ends Box Office run as lowest grossing DCEU movie
The film’s final worldwide total was $657,924,295, a handsome sum certainly but the least amount made of the five films that were part of the DC “universe” of films, which includes Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and, of course, JL. Ironically enough, the film that made the most in this group is the much reviled (by some, not me) BvS.
In retrospect, I suspect people should have seen this coming. The circus and negative reactions to both BvS -which I feel were deeply unfair at times- and Suicide Squad -more deserved, the film’s story was a mess and the only thing that “saved” the film, if such a term can be used, was the acting by the principles- created in the fan community so much negativity that even DC/Warners knew they had to put up a brave front to get people to come back to their side.
They trotted out director Zack Snyder and had him assure people JL would be a brighter affair. They even had reporters and fans come to the active set and were shown props and scenes meant to give them a taste of the better film to come.
But then came word that Snyder left the project some six months or so before its scheduled release, ostensibly due to the tragedy of the suicide of his adopted daughter. Joss Whedon took over the film and was doing re-shoots -which the studios stated were approved of/OKed by Snyder- and would finish the film. Given the film we finally received, I can’t help but believe those statements were lies.
Mr. Snyder, it was revealed much later, had likely been fired from the production and, it should be noted, he stepped down when the re-shoots were beginning. In other words, Mr. Snyder finished Justice League’s principle photography, reportedly presented a 3 hour cut (which some felt was “unwatchable”), and then was gone when the re-shoots began.
Could it be -and this is rank speculation on my part- that Snyder had no interest in doing the re-shoots? He’d been a “good soldier” for DC/WB, allowing the clipped theatrical version of BvS to be released when the much better Ultimate Cut was out there.
Could it be the studio meddling had finally become too much for him and, if he wasn’t outright fired, then maybe the studios and he decided it was time to part ways amicably?
Regardless of all that, the film essentially limped into theaters, the source of plenty of negative speculation and feelings that there was no way it could be a coherent work, given the speed in which it was released and the fact that the original director was gone.
When the film was released, it earned generally better reviews but not spectacular ones. There was more ridicule regarding the fact that Superman actor Henry Cavill had to keep his mustache due to contractual obligations with the latest Mission: Impossible film and the mustache was digitally removed after the fact (not well, to many).
When I saw the film, I liked it well enough, though at times it felt like I was watching a tug of war between the Snyder stuff and the Whedon stuff. I still hold out hope -perhaps misguided, given the box office figures- that DC/Warners will eventually allow Snyder to go back and release his version of the film.
Why do I say “misguided”? Because maybe DC/Warners wants to close the book on the Snyder run of movies and have no interest at all in reminding anyone of them. Given the weak box office they have every reason to close that particular chapter of the book, especially if completing the Snyder “cut” of the film might result in further expenditures to finish any effects.
Which is really too bad.
For better or worse I would have loved to see what Mr. Snyder was planning with Justice League. At least based on some of the trailers and scenes that never made it to the Whedon cut of the film, it appeared there was more stuff there with the ancillary characters, including Flash and Cyborg.
Truly, its too bad.