Box office success ain’t everything, but it’s generally agreed that the MCU has been able to back that up with positive notices in most cases. And yet the latest financial disappointment of the summer is calling that belief into question as not a single Marvel movie rates higher than it on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has now been on Disney Plus for a few weeks so of course it’s time for the inevitable backlash against what was Phase Five’s knight in shining armor to begin.
Gran Turismo might be bombing at the box office, but it’s still more popular than 30 out of 32 MCU movies
Gran Turismo is mostly going down as director Neil Blomkamp’s latest failed attempt to shake his reputation as “Who? Oh, the guy that did District 9!” However, although it’s on course to make a mere $16.5 million across its opening weekend in theaters, those who are seeing the movie are apparently going gaga over it. The Formula One flick — which just happens to star Black Widow and Thunderbolts‘ David Harbour — has got such a high audience score on RT that it’s above that of 30 out of the 32 Marvel Studios films that have been released to date, and it’s even equal to the other two. But is Gran Turismo going to spawn a 15-year franchise? Highly unlikely.
The glow of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is already dimming as cynics decree the threequel doesn’t deserve all the praise
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might be the lowest-rated of the trilogy (in terms of critics’ scores) on RT, but it’s easily the most beloved MCU entry we’ve had in a while, as fans have consistently been gushing over it ever since it came out back in May. It even managed to avoid the typical downward-turn of fortunes that accompanies a Marvel movie arriving on Disney Plus. And yet the backlash is now in full effect as more cynical sorts are dropping the “hot take” that Guardians 3 is only as popular as it is because we’ve been starved of stellar superhero content of late and it doesn’t actually deserve all the hype. Of course, that argument kind of falls down when you consider this next point.
… And yet the Legendary Star-Lord’s solo movie remains in high demand
Are we sure Guardians 3 is overhyped as it seems people are still more than up for a return to the Guardians-verse? Those folks on Reddit were fielded the question of whether they’d want to see the Legendary Star-Lord spinoff project teased at the end of the cosmic threequel, and the vast majority of replies are in the positive. Sure, many of them are adamant that new DC chief James Gunn would have to be involved to some extent, but otherwise it seems fans aren’t ready to say goodbye to these characters just yet. So maybe that tells us all we need to know about whether GotG3‘s success was just because it looked better next to Quantumania.