X-Men Dark Phoenix box office: New movie BOMBS – and could lose $100 MILLION

The concluding chapter in the current X-Men saga (New Mutants aside) was released to poor reviews last week, after high-profile issues that saw its release date pushed back multiple times. Dark Phoenix failed to chart at No1 in the US, bowing to $33 million – $14 million shy of eventual winner The Secret Life of Pets 2, which took the throne. Dark Phoenix is believed to have had a $200 million budget, which rises to $350 million including marketing and reshoots.

Now, Deadline reports that it could stand to lose between $100-120 million.

A film finance expert told the publication that its global box office total could be as low as $285 million “if it drops like a stone”.

And considering the fact that its CinemaScore rating from audiences is B-, the signs are that word-of-mouth won’t be particularly kind to the movie.

There is some good news for the film: it may not have beaten Secret Life of Pets 2 in the USA, but it is No1 globally, with around $140 million all-in-all.

But this is hugely down on its series predecessors: Days of Future Past opened to $262.9 million, Logan to $247.4 million and Apocalypse to $166.6 million.

There’s more competition due in the next few weeks: Men In Black International lands in the coming days, with the likely record-breaking Toy Story 4 following on June 21.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is also not far off; slated to arrive on July 2.

So with rolling competition too from the likes of Aladdin, it seems Dark Phoenix will have a fight on its hands if it’s to show some all-important staying power.

The film suffered negative publicity last week with a woeful Rotten Tomatoes score, which currently stands at 23%.

Its consensus reads: “Dark Phoenix ends an era of the X-Men franchise by taking a second stab at adapting a classic comics arc – with deeply disappointing results.”

Express.co.uk’s verdict was a little more positive, saying: “There aren’t many laughs in Dark Phoenix, but it’s not that kind of superhero movie, focusing instead on the characters’ struggles and zooming the audience along through the fast-paced action and impressive visual effects.”

Dark Phoenix is out now.