Men in Black: International Destroyed at the Box Office; Dark Phoenix Downward Trend Continues

Men in Black: International was released in theatres last weekend to extremely poor reviews. While I found some enjoyment in the overall above average film, it only managed to score 24% on Rotten Tomatoes (with an average rating of 4.5/10). And while the poor reviews certainly didn’t help the film, it certainly appears as if the higher-ups at Sony Pictures may have overestimated people’s interest in another Men in Black movie especially one that doesn’t centre around Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

The Men in Black spinoff starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson fell flat at the box office over the weekend, only raking in approximately $US 28 million in North America. That my friend is less than what the original Men in Black amassed in its opening weekend 22 years ago — $US 51 million. Which proves that the movie-going masses aren’t remotely interested in this franchise anymore.

Much like Dark Phoenix last week, the film did slightly better outside of North America, but even then, it’s nothing to really scream about. It approximately grossed a mere $US 73 million, putting its global opening weekend number at $US 102 million, with a $US 110 million budget. At this rate, it’s all but guaranteed that at the end of its run Men in Black: International will be the lowest grossing film in the MIB franchise — Men in Black ($US 589.3 million), Men in Black II ($US 441.8 million), MIB 3 ($US 624 million).

Speaking of Dark Phoenix, the final chapter of the Fox X-Men film series, continues to plummet at the box office. In North America, the film only grossed $US 9 million in its second weekend (which is roughly what Endgame made in its 6th weekend), putting its North American total at $US 51 million. If this trend continues — and believe me, it will — Dark Phoenix would probably end its run with a mere $60 million or so.

The film isn’t performing that well outside of North America either, only grossing $US 152 million in two weekends, putting its two week global total at $US 204 million. As of right now, Dark Phoenix is the lowest grossing X-Men film worldwide of all time. Even the first X-Men movie which came out in the year 2000, sits one place above Dark Phoenix having collected $US 296 million by the end of its run.