It’s the single question that haunts all Americans as they turn the page on a dreadful year: Why is “Wonder Woman 1984” so bad?
Why did this eagerly anticipated follow-up to the delightful 1917-set “Wonder Woman” — starring the same stunning Gal Gadot and directed by the same Patty Jenkins and released for our homebound viewing on HBO Max as a Christmas Day gift to its subscribers — have to stink up the joint like no comic-book movie has since “Howard the Duck” in 1986?
The sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman has failed to get box office tills ringing, making just $38.5m (£29.1m) in the 39 countries where it opened last week.
Around half that tally came from China, where Wonder Woman 1984 made $18.8m (£14.2m) in its opening weekend.
That sum was less than half the amount its predecessor made in China when it opened three years ago.
In October, for the first time, China overtook North America as the world’s largest film market. “Movie ticket sales in China for 2020 climbed to $1.988 billion on Sunday, surpassing North America’s total of $1.937 billion, according to data from Artisan Gateway. The gap is expected to widen considerably by year’s end,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter on October 18. “Analysts have long predicted that the world’s most populous country would one day top the global charts. But the results still represent a historic sea change”.
…COVID-19 has made it clear there is a deep divide between regular people and the celebrity class. Celebs complained about living in their coastal mansions during the pandemic or lectured us with “we’re all in this together” videos while breaking lock down orders. And let’s not forget they tortured us with yet another rendition of the annoying John Lennon song “Imagine,” because they actually believe it somehow makes us feel better to hear Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Fallon sing “Imagine there’s no heaven,” while an overreaching government shutters our business and separates us from loved ones.
The pandemic continues to act as a great cultural accelerant, bulldozing institutions that were lurching slowly towards irrelevance. The impending awards show season may be COVID’s last big cultural casualty before the dawn of the new normal.
The question is whether that damage is irreversible. For the entertainment industry, this question looms large over awards shows and, more importantly, movie theaters. As summer faded to fall, some in Hollywood optimistically believed the months-long national theater closure had created a pent-up demand that would boost new releases like “Unhinged” and “Tenet.”
Georgia is ground zero in the battle for the balance of power in Washington, D.C., as control of the U.S. Senate now hinges on the result of the two Senate runoff races in the Peach State.
Sen. Chuck Schumer recently stated: “Now we take Georgia, and then we change America.”
Hollywood director Rob Reiner is offering his angry voice to the mix, hoping to push Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock over the finish line by calling Trump supporters a “White Nationalist Autocratic Cult.”
What’s angry, malevolent, unforgiving, verbally abusive, foul-mouthed, and fond of ranting on Twitter? If you answered a woke, leftist, Hollywood actor or director, you’d be correct.
“Celebrity” is lately becoming more and more synonymous with “easily-offended hypocrite who lectures fans to find a sense of self-morality.” Leonardo DiCaprio and Prince Harry shame us about climate change from private jets, while Harry Styles wears dresses to teach us about masculinity and Michelle Williams congratulates herself for killing her unborn child in the name of her career.
There’s an ongoing epidemic of selfishness in Tinseltown. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if more stars found something other than themselves to worship?
Next year, Warner Bros. is going to release its entire 2021 movie slate, all 17 movies, on its HBO Max streaming service on the very same day those 17 titles are released in theaters. This is it, y’all. There is no coming back from this.
Georgia is now ground zero for the battle for the balance of power in Washington, D.C., as control of the U.S. Senate now hinges on the outcome of the two Senate runoff races. With the Senate majority leadership just a couple seats away, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently declared, “Now we take Georgia, and then we change America.” And failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate and Democratic Party power player Stacey Abrams is more than willing to do her part to see that Schumer’s goal is realized.
The Joker actor, who has continually attacked Trump throughout his presidency, weighed in on the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
