Pardon the delay in publishing this one, real life got in the way. But this is 50 minutes of (almost) nothing but Deadpool & Wolverine, both in terms of its box office bonanza and what the four of us thought of the picture. Spoiler: I was not the crankiest critic this weekend. But yes, plenty of thoughts about what went right (adding Hugh Jackman’s Logan mitigated a possible decline in interest), what didn’t go wrong (the kids showed up, R-rating be damned) and why a success specifically like this (using two established marquee characters from the Fox library) doesn’t really solve the various problems plaguing the post-Avengers Endgame MCU anymore than Inside Out 2 has “saved” Pixar. But in both cases, they may have turned death into a fighting chance to live.
In terms of the written word…
Jeremy dug into how Fox has become Disney’s ironic summer movie box office savior and provided more updates on an ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike for video game companies (and thus video game performers) and IATSE’s seemingly successful last-minute attempts to avoid a strike.
Lisa reviewed Kneecap and began her promised Twilight Tuesdays column, where she finally watches the later sequels of The Twilight Saga. I’m not surprised that she presumably walked away after the incredibly boring/series low point New Moon, but wowsers, is she in for a treat when she gets to the final 30 minutes of Breaking Dawn Part II. Endgame’s got nothing on (spoiler), (redacted) and (sweet mother of god!). Oh, and as a boringly hetero male, I was always #TeamBella, except when I was #TeamBellasHotFriends or #TeamJane.
Ryan’s Tales from the Box Office concerns the 25th anniversary of what is often considered the second-best shark movie of all time, Deep Blue Sea. I’m #TeamTheMeg, but Deep Blue Sea is pretty great and has one of the best jump scares in modern cinematic history.
As always, if you like what you hear, like, share, comment, and smash (using a cartoon mallet) that subscribe button with every justified ounce of strength and passion. Oh, and if you want to personally bother us and offer good cheer, requests for in-show discussions and ideas for bonus episodes, ping us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com.
Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap
Lisa Laman - Looper, Cultress and Autostraddle
Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm and Fangoria
Ep 26: Deadpool & Wolverine - When Everything Goes Right