The box office history of the X-Men movies

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The box office history of the X-Men movies

As a long-time fan of the X-Men franchise, I’ve witnessed its highs and lows throughout the years. Having grown up watching the first few movies, I was thrilled to see how they pushed boundaries with their special effects and groundbreaking storylines. But as time went on, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment with the declining box office performance and lackluster storytelling in some of the more recent installments.

During a period when producing live-action Marvel movies was considered risky, films based on characters like Howard the Duck and an unfinished Fantastic Four production dominated the scene. Then, in 1998, Blade broke through, paving the way for a significant shift. Live-action Marvel films became lucrative ventures as Marvel Comics, facing financial struggles, had sold film rights to major characters such as Spider-Man and Captain America at affordable prices during the mid-90s. TheMarvel Comics universe quickly attracted interest from numerous Hollywood players. X-Men spearheaded this new era in 2000.

Twenty-four years have passed, and it’s undeniable that X-Men made a significant financial impact in the film industry. I, as a devoted fan, can attest to this fact. Hugh Jackman is still bringing Wolverine to life on the big screen this summer in Deadpool & Wolverine. A commercial for their upcoming fight recently surfaced, featuring Tyler Mane’s Sabretooth from the original X-Men. At the turn of the 21st century, however, there was a sense of doubt surrounding this movie. This apprehension ignited the beginning of X-Men’s impressive box office journey.

In the summer of 2000, the release of X-Men wasn’t only crucial for Marvel Comics films to secure successful productions. For 20th Century Fox as well, this movie was a much-needed financial lifeline. The impressive international earnings from box office hits like Titanic and distributing The Phantom Menace had bolstered the studio’s coffers towards the end of the 90s. Yet, Fox ended up in fourth place among major studios at the domestic box office in 1998. Even Phantom Menace‘s revenues couldn’t prevent them from slipping to fifth place in 1999. Amidst these financial struggles, the closure of Fox Animation Studios just weeks before the premiere of X-Men added to their woes. This mutant movie had to deliver impressive box office results.

Fox executives could feel a great sense of relief as they received the impressive box office numbers for X-Men during its opening weekend. With a total of $54.4 million earned, X-Men held the title for the sixth-largest domestic opening weekend on record at the time of release. To put things into perspective, the current sixth-biggest opening weekend domestically belongs to Jurassic World with an earnings of $208.8 million. Notably, X-Men surpassed Batman Forever’s $52.7 million domestic debut, becoming the biggest opening for a superhero movie in history. With Titan A.E., Fox’s summer financial disappointment, now fading from memory, everyone was buzzing about how X-Men had kickstarted a new franchise following its impressive domestic earnings of $157.2 million.

Three years after the release of “X-Men,” it was time for the sequel, “X2: X-Men United.” Instead of debuting in July, which was “X-Men’s” usual slot, “X2” chose the first weekend of May. This launchpad had proven successful for films like “Spider-Man” in 2002. Over its opening weekend, “X2” set a new record for the biggest Fox opening weekend with an impressive $85.5 million debut, surpassing the $80 million opening of “Attack of the Clones” from the previous summer. At the time of its release, this was the fourth-biggest domestic launch in history. Two weeks later, it moved up to fifth place when “The Matrix Reloaded” opened to $91.7 million. Additionally, “X2” became only the 48th film to earn over $200 million domestically and just the eighth Fox movie to reach this milestone.

The success of X-Men wasn’t a mere coincidence, riding on the wave of excitement generated by Blade. X2 firmly established that the Marvel cinematic era was upon us.

Amidst the great anticipation surrounding Hugh Jackman’s impressive biceps, X-Men: The Last Stand made its grand entrance into cinemas, accompanied by a massive wave of positive sentiment. During its first three days in theaters, The Last Stand earned an astounding $102.7 million, ranking as the fourth largest opening weekend ever recorded. This was also only the fifth instance in history where a film managed to exceed $100 million during its debut weekend. Notably, The Last Stand surpassed Star Trek: First Contact to become Kelsey Grammer’s highest-grossing live-action appearance to date (later overtaken by Transformers: Age of Extinction). The box office slump remained a distant memory for The Last Stand, leaving Fox executives elated and possibly enjoying quite a few celebratory meals.

The enormous debut of “The Last Stand” came with a significant disclaimer: it became the first film to gross over $100 million domestically yet fall short of $250 million in its entire run. This unexpected outcome was largely due to the dismal word-of-mouth surrounding the movie. Despite decent initial numbers, there were doubts about the saga’s lasting power. Could future “X-Men” installments generate the same level of pre-release buzz? The uncertainty loomed large for Fox executives: would they show mercy and invest in more films or cut their losses?

In the year 2009, not only did popular TV series like “In the Motherhood,” “Trust Me,” and “Kings” grace our screens, but it also marked three years since the release of “X-Men: The Last Stand.” To use a metaphor from country music’s Easton Corbin, this time gap between X-Men franchise installments could be compared to his songs coming out every three years – consistent and reliable, like “Clockwork.” With May 2009 seeing the arrival of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” focusing on Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine, box office success was anticipated.

Between “The Last Stand” and “Wolverine,” the superhero movie scene underwent a significant transformation. “Iron Man” initiated the Marvel Cinematic Universe in May 2008, paving the way. In August of the same year, “The Dark Knight” set new records as the biggest superhero film ever. Following up on the less-than-stellar reception of “The Last Stand,” and being the subsequent production after these groundbreaking 2008 blockbusters, would have posed an additional challenge. The heightened competition among blockbusters was evident in the opening weekend box office performance of “Wolverine.” Previously, all “X-Men” films had opened within the top six all-time openings. By May 2009, “Wolverine’s” domestic debut ranked as the 19th largest, with a mere $500,000 less than that of “X2.”

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo labeled Wolverine’s debut as successful, given its status as an X-Men origin prequel. However, this solo film’s heavily frontloaded box office performance made it the second least profitable X-Men movie domestically, earning just $179 million. Similar to The Last Stand, audience interest waned quickly after the opening weekend. To shake things up in this stagnant landscape, a groundbreaking prequel emerged: X-Men: First Class, released in June 2011. This new series of X-Men films was designed to explore the past and introduce younger characters.

Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men film (2012), which received critically acclaimed reviews, lagged behind in domestic box office revenue compared to previous X-Men movies with a total of $146.4 million. This was not a dismal figure but fell short of all earlier installments, even the one released a decade prior with a smaller budget. In 2013, The Wolverine’s domestic earnings reached an all-time low for the franchise at $132.5 million. This apparent box office underperformance suggested a clear demand for something new in the X-Men series. The creative team had already been planning such a groundbreaking adaptation before The Wolverine’s disappointing revenues were announced. The success of 2012’s The Avengers, which showcased a large ensemble superhero storyline, further highlighted the audience’s preference for expansive team-up movies. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) would effectively cater to this newfound appetite.

As a gamer, I’d rephrase it like this: In 2014, the X-Men franchise brought together the First Class and original casts for an epic adventure that traveled through the 1970s and a dystopic future. This move helped revive the X-Men’s box office success after being overshadowed by numerous superhero and blockbuster releases in the same year. Although Days of Future Past didn’t quite make it into the top ten biggest domestic debuts, with a North American haul of $233.9 million, it was the second-largest X-Men movie gross in this territory, only lagging behind The Last Stand by $400,000. Most importantly, Days of Future Past significantly boosted the X-Men’s presence on the international stage. Prior to 2014, no X-Men title had surpassed a worldwide revenue of $460 million. But with Days of Future Past raking in over $414 million internationally alone, it became a major success for the X-Men franchise.

Surprisingly, the 2016 film “Deadpool,” which Fox executives initially showed little interest in, went on to become the most financially successful title in the “X-Men” series. With earnings of $363 million within the US and $781.9 million globally, it surpassed all previous records for the franchise. The success of this irreverent comedy was a complete shock to many, outperforming all other Ryan Reynolds films and R-rated comedies. Its impressive revenue became even more noteworthy as 2016 progressed. Just three months after “Deadpool,” the traditional “X-Men” blockbuster “X-Men: Apocalypse” was released over Memorial Day weekend. Featuring the extensive destruction of Australia and Oscar Isaac in blue makeup, this production cost $178 million to produce but only managed to bring in a worldwide revenue of $542.5 million.

The international earnings of over $395 million for X-Men: Apocalypse significantly enhanced the franchise’s global appeal, surpassing even the disappointing domestic revenues of around $155 million in the United States. This marked a clear shift from earlier films like X-Men: The Last Stand, which struggled to reach $250 million internationally. However, it is noteworthy that the North American box office collections for Apocalypse were considerably lower than Days of Future Past’s, with only a $9 million increase in revenue compared to First Class, which was released five years prior. The latter film had been anticipated to provide a lasting boost to the series’ domestic box office performance, but it appears that the mainline X-Men movies have reverted back to their previous revenue levels.

In the aftermath of “Apocalypse,” 20th Century Fox introduced the gritty and grounded “Logan” to cinemas, nine months later. With a lower budget of $127 million and an R-rating, this film proved to be another unexpected success for the franchise following “Deadpool.” Despite being less action-packed and more mature than “Apocalypse,” “Logan” just barely surpassed its predecessor in international box office collections (earning $389 million outside of North America). Additionally, it became only the third non-“Deadpool” installment of the “X-Men” series to generate over $200 million within the US. Ultimately, a standalone “Wolverine” film emerged as a box office triumph. The unique and fresh take on superhero films presented by the “X-Men” movies drew massive crowds to theaters, while simpler superhero antics like “Apocalypse” left audiences with mere shrugs of indifference.

Approximately eight months following the release of Logan, a catastrophic apocalypse in Hollywood took place, leaving a lasting impact on this franchise. In a major corporate shake-up, 20th Century Fox, along with other News Corp. media entities such as FX, substantial shares of Hulu, and National Geographic, were absorbed by Disney. Consequently, the studio’s plans went awry. The 2018 and particularly the 2019 lineup saw significant upheaval. Even the X-Men films weren’t immune to this corporate upheaval. Initially slated for release in April 2018, The New Mutants was planned as the next X-Men spin-off movie. However, its debut never materialized. Dark Phoenix, the subsequent X-Men installment, made its way to cinemas in November 2018 initially but faced two postponements and eventually saw release in June 2019.

The turmoil surrounding Disney’s acquisition of Fox brought about a great deal of unpredictability, which extended beyond just the production of X-Men features. Consequently, several movies based on the X-Men universe in development were canceled (such as Channing Tatum’s long-plagued Gambit project). Amidst this chaos, Deadpool 2 debuted in cinemas on May 18, 2018. Opening three weeks after the release of Avengers: Infinity War didn’t deter viewers from embracing this blockbuster. Deadpool 2 amassed an impressive $324.5 million in domestic revenue and a substantial $786.3 million globally. For a short while, these earnings placed the film atop the list of highest-grossing R-rated movies worldwide (until Joker surpassed it).

As a dedicated gamer and avid fan of the X-Men universe, I can’t help but marvel at the consistent success of this franchise during the summer months. For nearly half of those 18 summers between 2000 and 2018, the X-Men saga dropped a new blockbuster that grossed over $132 million domestically, with six of those films raking in an impressive $150 million or more. Unfortunately, this remarkable streak came to a halt when “Dark Phoenix,” directed by Simon Kinberg, hit theaters in 2019. This was one of the first X-Men movies released under Disney’s ownership following their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in March of that year. With Mickey Mouse now handling a Marvel property outside of the Kevin Feige realm, the pre-release buzz for “Dark Phoenix” lacked the usual excitement from fans anticipating cameos or character arc resolutions.

Dark Phoenix faced relentless criticism despite its expensive production, with issues such as extensive reshoots, a revamped ending, and reports of marketing chaos due to the Disney-Fox merger. Ultimately, this X-Men installment, which cost $200 million to make, earned just $65.8 million domestically. Previously, X-Men films had opened with some of the biggest box office weekends ever. However, Dark Phoenix’s domestic earnings barely surpassed X-Men: Apocalypse’s opening weekend earnings. The movie grossed a worldwide total of $246.3 million but failed to mitigate its significant financial losses. The New Mutants, marking the end of this chapter in the X-Men series, was released in August 2020. Unfortunately, it was distributed during the height of COVID-19 and theater closures, resulting in only $47.5 million earned worldwide.

Examining the box office performance of the X-Men movies throughout the years is not merely about assessing the impact of actors like Will.i.am as John Wraith or Tye Sheridan’s use of strong language. It’s also an opportunity to observe the transformation of American blockbusters over the past two decades. In July 2000, only a few movies managed to gross over $60 million domestically. The idea of opening with over $100 million in North America was yet to become a reality for the future. As more blockbusters entered the scene, the financial results became more unpredictable.

By 2016, even extravagantly titled X-Men films with heavy VFX like “X-Men: The Last Stand” failed to capture the audience’s attention. To make a mark in the marketplace, a more unique approach was required. The most successful final X-Men movies, such as “Deadpool” and “Logan,” were R-rated standouts. These films offered something fresh and functioned as independent entities, open to all viewers. In contrast, “Apocalypse’s” marketing was overcrowded with mythos and character returns.

A new chapter in X-Men film history is approaching with the upcoming collaboration of Deadpool and Wolverine. Preliminary estimates indicate that this movie may rake in over $160 million during its opening weekend. This figure surpasses the entire domestic earnings of Apocalypse within a mere three days. Furthermore, the highly successful 2024 Disney+ series X-Men ’97 serves as a reminder of the everlasting appeal of these mutant heroes. Both projects continue to emulate the groundbreaking success of the original X-Men films that continually shattered box office records, much like Wolverine’s unyielding determination against adversaries. Alas, if only Hank McCoy could have benefited from all those box office triumphs to decipher the conundrum of handling tossed salads and scrambled eggs…

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2024-07-13 19:16