Alex Gardner’s Civil War movie is currently exploding at the box office but the reviews from fans are coming in lukewarm.
The box office is currently overperforming at around $24M-$27M, up from an estimated $20 million previous to the weekend.
Regarding the reviews, it’s learned Civil War has a B- CinemaScore, which really isn’t all that good.
Likewise, the flick has a 76% positive on Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak (53% definite recommend), which Deadline points out means the audience is split.
The Civil War Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score has also been dropping as it’s currently at only a 78%, while the critics score comes in higher at a current 83%.
Likely, the lukewarm responses from fans means a big dip is coming in its second weekend at the box office.
Sunday update: Box office is even higher as A24 reports a $25.7M opening, said to be led largely by Democrat and Liberal moviegoers. The Rotten Tomatoes Audience score has also dropped to 77%.
Original article continues:
So what’s going on?
I think what is going on, and it’s exactly as I said in my review, fans were expecting a different movie.
The trailer and marketing is all about “war,” but the movie is hardly that, IMO.
It’s also not a “political thriller” as Gardner refuses to pull the trigger and doesn’t touch upon any political themes directly.
Also as I said, there is a lot of dumb shit going on to move the plot forward, which doesn’t help.
Bait and switch?
You’re better off watching the original Red Dawn or even something like Olympus Has Fallen; Gardner completely misses the beat, IMO, with characters no one cares about, and the best part of the movie only lasts five minutes or less and is already seen in the trailer.
The trailer also features all the good footage, which mostly happens at the end. Also, none of what is featured on the posters happens in the movie. Maybe a bit of bait and switch.
