"Eternals" arrives, a very audacious bet from Marvel 0:53
New York (CNN) -
"Eternals," the new Marvel movie, grossed $ 71 million in its opening weekend, Disney (DIS) announced, making it the fourth-highest debut in the pandemic. despite less favorable reviews from critics.
The figure is close to the $ 75.3 million Labor Day weekend premiere of "Shang-Chi," but the coming weekends will give a better idea of whether "Eternals" will have the same momentum.
November is also a busy month for the box office, with premieres of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and "King Richard" starring Will Smith.
"It will be a real test of the film's resilience and the amount of reviews that really matter," said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore.
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Meet the Eternals, Marvel's new heroes (DI): Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), and Druig (Barry).
Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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Ikaris: the original Eternal.
Powers: laser beam eyes and fly at full speed.
Courtesy of Marvel Studios 2021.
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Sersi: She dates a human but has a romantic history with Ikaris.
It is capable of transmuting matter, as we saw in one of the advances.
Courtesy of Marvel Studios 2021.
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Sprite (Lia McHugh) will always seem like a young person.
It is not always fun.
It has the power to create illusions.
Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) is not interested in violence.
He is an inventor and pacifist.
Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) Courtesy of Marvel Studios 2021.
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Ajak (Salma Hayek) is that friend who acts like a mother to the rest of her group.
It has the power to heal both Eternals and humans.
Ajak (Salma Hayek) Courtesy of Marvel Studios.
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Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) is one of the fastest sprinters in Marvel comics.
Credits: Sophie Mutevelian.
Marvel Studios 2021.
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Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) prefers to steal the limelight and therefore his superpower is to fight with style.
Credits: Sophie Mutevelian.
Marvel Studios 2021.
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Gilgamesh (Don Lee, center) is the strongest Eternal, but also the most realistic.
He bears the nickname "the forgotten one" because for a long time he did not know who he was.Credits: Sophie Mutevelian.
Marvel Studios 2021.
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Druig (Barry Keoghan) is the darkest Eternal.
His power is mind control and he has a different view of humans from the other Eternals.
Credits: Sophie Mutevelian.
Marvel Studios 2021.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a one-of-a-kind franchise where reviews don't matter much, Dergarabedian said, as die-hard fans will still rush to watch on opening weekends and have the final say on a movie's success.
"No matter the criticism, no matter the release date, (the fans) are going to show up in large numbers," Dergarabedian said.
"And it's very rare to have that."
Marvel movies represent three of the four most successful opening weekends of the pandemic era, including "Black Widow" and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."
The two films were among the top three grossing films this year, grossing more than $ 233 million and $ 183 million, respectively.
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"Eternals" grossed $ 30.7 domestically on opening day Friday, including trailers from Thursday.
Early screenings indicate that the film made $ 75 million over the weekend.
"Eternals," directed by Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, features a star-studded cast, including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan and Don Sotavento.
The film is about a group of immortal aliens who have been tasked with protecting Earth from "the Deviants."
But despite the familiar names in the cast, the film failed to win over critics.
At 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is the only Marvel movie to have a "rotten" score on the site.
That didn't stop the successful box office debut, and audiences were more forgiving, rating it 81%.
The success of "Eternals" this month bodes well for a strong box office over the next two months following the record October, which was the highest overall grossing month of the pandemic era in North America.
EternalsMarvel Movies