When the MCU takes over....

This is not a gonna be a "I hate the MCU" post as I still enjoy some of it. And I also don't prescribe to the notion that superhero movies have "taken over' everything. Tarantino can still make the movies he wants and so forth.

BUT, what about when the MCU kinda DOES take over.

I want to see that new movie Devotion. Its an aviation film set during the korean war. It came out today. Apparently, for the foreseeable future, Wakanda Forever has taken over ALL the big screens at the theatres. Not a single AVX theatre to be found in my city for a movie that absolutely should be in a good theatre. The regular theatres are pretty damn small comparatively. Maybe Devotion get's its shot in the future but ffs Disney.

Anyone else run into this in their area? Can't say I've encountered a previous MCU movie that has been like this.

It depends on theatres in your area, but I agree it’s sort of sad that Marvel movies have mostly run other action movies out of town at a lot of theatres. Like if the other action movie isn’t an Avatar or John Wick or Top Gun, a lot of theatre owners are going to give so much preference to the Marvel movie over most other big or medium budget spectacle movies.

Same here, it was expected with the MCU and their focus on China. Just shovel them out the door.

However that's what the movie industry gets for stanning/liking a giant oiled machine that churns out MCU-turds, one after another. I like some MCU-franchises but even I can see it's the mcdonalds of the movie industry driving off more interesting movies off the theatre. It is a real shame because I remember going to the cinemas/theatres bofre the MCU-shovelware era and it being much more diverse set of movies and genres.

The movie was planned for a limited theater release on October 22, 2022, and then proceeded with a wide expansion on October 28, 2022. So you are a week early to look for it everywhere.

@bisonhero: I'm sort of surprised that in a year where Top Gun was the biggest film they wouldn't ride that hype into another aviation based film, especially since one of the leads was in Top Gun.

@monkeyking1969 All I know is it came out in theatres today in Canada and its playing everywhere. If you go to the Cineplex website or app and check a week from tomorrow(that's as far as you can check) its still just playing in shitty theatres. So maybe it will eventually get into a bigger theatre but its for sure stuck on the smaller screens for at least a week.

It's always strange to me how people take the tack that it's the Marvel Studio movies fault for being so successful. I get that folks are worried about hegemony/monopolies and the like, buuuuuuuut...I think y'all's problem is with the public's tastes and the system that movie theaters operate with, not the actual output.

This has happened before with more "respectable" genres, we just don't remember the deluge of gangster, cowboy, sci-fi, fantasy, torture porn, slashers, ghost movies, "twist movies," or the others because they were either too long ago, or were drowned out by the imitators super-saturating the market. It's happening bigger this time, for sure, but I dunno what's to be done other than people getting sick of well made 7/10 superhero flicks. Or when movie theaters get a better cut of ticket sales/executives stop overpaying themselves, so...yeah, which do y'all think happens first?

@spacemanspiff00: I doubt 3 or 4 movies a year beat out the 100s that people keep saying never get a chance. I don't know if its selective amnesia, but we had like this whole 2 years or almost with no marvel movies...the exact thing people wanted and said they needed for the indies and big important "real" cinema to climax...what happen...nothing. Movies came out...but no one watched them...proves to me marvel isn't the reason all these directors scream about OH poor me can't get funding for my movie that only appeals to 1% of the demo vs IP that does 5%...

Either we as consumers have to show we want the indie or non ip driven stuff, or directors have to gamble to get their consumers back. Just like marvel did with everything years ago...they had the spirit and said I will put money into a superhero movie that at the time was considered stupid...now everyone spits in their face for such dastardly actions like using money to make something you believe in and then profiting off of it...and continuing too...NOOO that's not cinema...Indie I say or deep movies...

Yes, you can do good movies on a small and low theater budget... Everything everywhere proved that...but people also said that was overrated and hard to understand...the issue of movie consumption isn't one fold...Humans also have lower attention spans and comprehension skills (at least those watching). SAT's test for comprehension skills with the simple question...what is the main idea of a 1 page or 2 passage...many get it wrong...after just reading it...Not fair honestly, but I used that bad example to push my generalizations...we as people choose, and we decide we want something relaxing and easy and marvel does it. Also, black panther 2 was good, so they can still make good movies.

PS, didn't answer your question much...I agree with you thou, not fair you can't see your movies, but I think that's a limited run and demo problem, they just think people in that area don't have the capacity to enjoy such things...sadly as in they just generally by stats don't care in your community.

@topcyclist: The only question I asked was if anyone else experienced it in their own area so no biggie. I did say that I still like Marvel stuff. And I still can see Devotion but so far its uncertain if it will go into one of the good auditoriums and I'm not shelling out for a small screen and much crappier sound. I just didn't realize how bad its gotten at theatres. I've only seen 2 movies on the big screen in the last few years.

As far as Devotion goes I wouldn't call it a limited release either since its in every theatre in my city. Its just that Black Panther has taken over every good auditorium. Which makes little sense to me when I look at the seating charts and the theatres aren't even half full for the most popular showtimes. Numerous other times are totally vacant. Your not making money on empty theatres, especially the best ones. And now I might not go at all because of what I said above. There's clearly more than enough room for both and yet here we are. Empty theatres and little choice. I honestly feel worse than I thought for non MCU fans lol.

@spacemanspiff00: Yeah, my rant wasn't directed to you exactly, just a rant for rant’s sake lol. IMO, you are right...sad state of affairs where people can't see anything they want cause capitalism demands generic entertainment and super low risk all the time. It's ok sometimes, but geezer. If marvel starts just completely phoning it in, then they have a monopoly and that's all we can watch for action. Like how dlc became a thing we laughed at and now expect.

I am so tired of MCU movies, seriously.

It's not really a MCU problem. Devotion was never going to get the AVX treatment unless it could find the perfect release date where it found a few weeks when nothing else was out. It's a biopic based on someone that people don't really know, directed by someone that people don't really know, starring a bunch of actors who aren't bringing people to the theatre. That kind of movie is never going to be put in the biggest theatre because it's not going to fill it up.

There is a degree of truth to this in 2022, but also, there are no surprise hits anymore. There was a time when movies that no one expected, by unknowns, like this one, might get a surprise footing and now that chance is just (mostly) gone.

@ragtagbag: I mean sure, its not the MCU's fault itself so much as it is how only the biggest events get showcased now. And like I said above the theatres aren't filling up. Especially since some theatres have 5 auditoriums playing Black panther multiple times a day and many shows are empty or close to it. To piggyback off what Sethmode said, I do remember when you would still see another couple flicks in the bigger theatres alongside the biggest one, and sometimes they're hidden gems. If it doesn't really do well in the first week or two then fine, send it on down to the lesser venues.

Devotion isn't even that small a movie. Its a 100M dollar film produced by Columbia Pictures. One if its leads starred in Top Gun, the biggest film of the year, and the plane stunt coordinator is the same guy that did Top Gun Maverick. I'll agree that the subject matter itself may not draw as many in but its still a bigger budget spectacle film. And one you could ride on some of the Top Gun hype. It just sucks that if a MCU movie comes out now, apparently everyone else gets screwed that isn't a tentpole franchise. Tbh I don't even understand why Devotion would release now if that's the case. A real shame.

@spacemanspiff00: Again, it's not an MCU thing. Devotion isn't a movie that's going to fill the biggest auditorium. If Black Panther wasn't out this month, they'd have Strange World in the biggest auditorium. If it was released last month, Black Adam would be there. Next month, Avatar. Would it have been given the biggest auditorium against Jurassic World? Top Gun? Batman? Minions? Sonic? Uncharted? Lightyear? Nope? Elvis? Probably not and none of those are MCU movies. Devotion's still playing at just about every theatre so it's not like it's a difficult movie to watch on the big screen.

Giant generic action movies flooding theatres is a product of the 90s and was an issue long before the MCU. The MCU has actually been a breath of fresh air in that department since there's way more variety than we used to get.

Lol I did say I understand its not just an MCU thing. But the MCU is the biggest thing currently and the one that's in theatres right now. I didn't even say it had to be the biggest/best auditorium(not all AVX have Atmos, for example). If you have 5 bigger theatres, where you play the biggest movies, surely you could relegate one of them for something slightly smaller and see how it goes. Especially since you aren't even filling up the theatres because you have 16 showtimes a day for the same movie. The MCU is just an easy example that everyone knows about.

Yes, I could go see Devotion, however the last time I went to a regular screen it was tiny and didn't even have surround sound. Movies aren't really cheap to go to anymore, not even in the states. I refuse to pay for a subpar or mediocre experience anymore. It was different when I was younger and there was still cheap theatres. These days, I'm not paying 20 dollars for a small screen and crappy sound.