DC is now going through a run of poor box office numbers. The most recent in that run was June’s eagerly anticipated The Flash, which on its $200+ million budget cost Warner Bros. an unprecedented amount of money and even ended up being one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history.
DC still has two movies from the old regime, Blue Beetle and Aquaman 2, to release after the three box office flops Black Adam, Shazam 2, and The Flash. Box Office Pro forecasts that Blue Beetle’s opening weekend take may be as low as $12 to 17 million. For a superhero film nowadays, that would be a fairly catastrophic start. Amidst this box office projection and the ongoing double strike, actor Xolo Maridueña emotionally called fans to show up for the movie and make it a hit.
Xolo Maridueña’s Emotional Appeal To Fans
Box Office Pro analysts project that Blue Beetle will bring in between $27 million and $55 million during its entire domestic run. This would earn less than Shazam Fury of the Gods and possibly less than The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984.
The fact that the actors’ strike is still going on will prevent Blue Beetle‘s cast from promoting the upcoming DCEU movie, which may be why the movie’s collection is projected so poorly. Warner Bros. reportedly considered postponing Blue Beetle shortly after the strike started so that the performers could properly promote the movie. The studio ultimately decided against delaying the release of the movie to 2024.
Xolo Maridueña, the Blue Beetle actor in the meantime, urges the fans to come and see the movie and his character and how it opens up.
“I have had the pleasure of getting to speak with Mr. James Gunn and the whole DC fam. And, you know, at the end of the day, I think, first, we have to cross this first hill, right? And introduce Jaime to the world. But I think it’s up to the audience to watch the movie. It’s up to everyone to show up for the movie and it’s so wonderful that we get to make movies like this.”
Fans are thrilled to watch Xolo Maridueña make his debut as Jaime Reyes in what the actor revealed to be his first-ever film. He shares that the actors’ strike will prevent the DC movie from having the press tour that was planned, and it’s painful to see the disappointment on his face. He does, however, want to stand in solidarity with his fellow performers and be on the “right side of history.”
Xolo Maridueña about Playing DC’s Blue Beetle
Xolo Maridueña will play Jaime Reyes, the lead role in DC’s first adaptation of a comic book featuring a Latino superhero. Maridueña revealed that he is most thrilled to play a Latino character when talking about his new role.
“The only thing that is on my mind right now is just the fact that he’s Latino. I have so much pride in getting to be a part of this project with Angel, someone like him,” he said. “I think it’s so important, and I don’t want to stand on the soapbox for too long but representation is so important.”
Speaking to Variety at the Cobra Kai season 5 premiere, Mariduea admitted that he experienced “a lot of nerves and exhilaration” while playing the role. “Excited is not the first word that comes to my brain,” he continued.
“It is nervous excitement, its antsiness. It’s the anticipation of knowing that you’re on the brink of something potentially big, but it still feels really intimate because you’re just with the cast and the crew.”
The actor also expressed his joy at DC’s decision to include a Latino superhero. He stated, “I can’t wait for audiences to witness one of the first Latino-led superhero films ever.”
Reyes, played by Mariduea, enters what appears to be an old Blue Beetle hideout at the very end of the trailer and says, “It’s like Batman’s stuff.” In response, Lopez’s character says, “Batman’s a fascist.”
Blue Beetle is slated for an August 18 theatrical release.
Source: The Direct
