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"Thunderbolts*" and "Sinners" show good word of mouth can still have value
Once again "Thunderbolts*" was the number-one movie at the domestic box office. Also, we're still going to call it "Thunderbolts*" because we were legit thrown with how quickly sites across the entertainment space were down to spoil the hell out of that movie. "Sinners" was number two, and it crossed the $200 million mark domestically, which is remarkable for an original R-rated movie.
"Thunderbolts*" made $33 million this week, down 55 percent from its opening weekend. However, that's not bad for a movie of that size, and it's better than any Marvel film in a few years. Of course, it can't hold a candle to "Sinners," which turned heads when it dropped only six percent from its first weekend to its second weekend.
Side note: It seems Disney and Marvel are also fully embracing revealing the big twist of "Thunderbolts*," so if you haven't seen it yet, well, you've probably already been spoiled. You have our sympathies.
"A Minecraft Movie" was third, and it has crossed $400 million and will likely hit $1 billion worldwide. Its success seems to come down to Zoomers (calling them Gen Z feels unfair to Gen X) clinging to the world of a game they grew up living in, a game, to the best we can tell, is as inert and conflict free as possible. "Thunderbolts*" and "Sinners," though, have benefited from one of the driving forces behind film success for nigh on a century at this point: Strong word of mouth.
"Sinners," even with a movie star as the lead and a director a lot of people know by name, felt like a bit of a mystery due to the fact it wasn't based on a movie Millennials love from their childhoods or some video game we really just can't crack the appeal of. Then, people saw it, talked about how much it ripped on social media and in real life, and suddenly it was barely losing any audience from its first weekend. The MCU had been on the wane, but then "Thunderbolts*" got good reviews and people started telling their on-the-fence friends, "Actually, this one is worth seeing," and it proved to have more legs than anything since Marvel's heyday.
Even though the MCU is a Disney entity and we aren't exactly rooting for a massive media conglomerate, it is encouraging to have a couple recent movies that show that word of mouth can still get people to the movies. It can work for "Thunderbolts*" but it can also work for "Sinners," and perhaps even smaller movies than that. So when you see a movie that you think is awesome, tell people. It still works! But don't spoil "Thunderbolts*" for them if they have somehow missed all the reveals!
More must-reads:
- 20 actors who were given chances to be A-list movie stars, but failed
- 25 iconic film deaths that stay with you forever
- 20 films where a supporting actor outshined the star
- 20 A-list actors who passed on iconic roles
- 25 beloved actors who were one-hit wonders
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