Yossarian wrote:

Also, Shang-Chi was decent. Worth a watch, I’d say.

hylian_elf wrote:

Please don't watch Eternals. You'll thank me.

This.  It is utter shite. Shang-Chi was brilliant.  It has Tony Leung in it, what more could you want?!

Yossarian wrote:

I think Marvel suffers similar to the Star Wars. Who is it aimed at? Is it possible in a combined narrative universe to have shows and movies that appeal to kids, appeal to adults, appeal to casuals and appeal to invested fans?

Based on the insane amount of money the MCU has raked in over the course of almost fifteen years, I’d have to say that the answer is a resounding yes.

RedDave2 wrote:

Yossarian wrote:

I think Marvel suffers similar to the Star Wars. Who is it aimed at? Is it possible in a combined narrative universe to have shows and movies that appeal to kids, appeal to adults, appeal to casuals and appeal to invested fans?

Based on the insane amount of money the MCU has raked in over the course of almost fifteen years, I’d have to say that the answer is a resounding yes.

Definitely they found the fine line up to Endgame. I think its been hard for them since. Its hard to tell as movies underperformance is as much due to covid restrictions as anything. But even the fanbase seems a bit more divided as to what's working with the shows as well. Certainly its still a juggernaut (like star wars) but its a hard juggling act keeping everyone entertained. To put that in perspective according to IMdb, the new range of movies are back at early phase 1 levels with the exception of Spider Man Highest Grossing MCU Movies Worldwide - IMDb I dont think Strange 2 is in there and will be interesting to see how Thor performs.

RedDave2 wrote:

Why was Strange 2 banned in China?

The "Doctor Strange" sequel is the fifth MCU entry in a row to be shut out of China. All four of 2021's releases — "Black Widow," "Shang-Chi," "Eternals," and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" — were never released there.

In its five-year film plan that it laid out last year, the China Film Administration made it a priority for local films to account for the majority of annual box office going forward. 

In Marvel's case, most of the movies have faced online controversy in China that impeded their release.

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" faced criticism for a scene that features a newspaper kiosk with the Epoch Times, which opposes the Chinese government, according to Deadline.

Chinese film officials wanted the Statue of Liberty removed from "No Way Home," Puck's Matthew Belloni reported, which would alter the movie's entire climax.

"Eternals" director Chloé Zhao, who was born in China, faced criticism from Chinese nationalists over a 2013 interview in which she said "there are lies everywhere" in the country.

2017 comments made by "Shang-Chi" star Simu Liu resurfaced on Chinese social media last year in which he called China a "third world" country.

Not all of the movies faced widespread criticism. "Black Widow" was delayed until May last year, during a typical "blackout" of foreign films in China during the summer movie season.

tin_robot wrote:

Strange has done better than the original at the box office - it's the tenth MCU film to get more than 400 million domestically, and looks to be likely to have a worldwide gross of just under 1 billion. That keeps it, I think, just outside the top 10 but is still pretty good, especially given Covid, and the fact it's been banned in multiple countries (China, some middle Eastern countries, and not showing in Russia). The new Top Gun has performed better at the cinema this year, but that's it. (Though Jurassic World: Dominion's inexplicable popularity might change that I guess.)

poprock wrote:

I think that list of reasons for Marvel films to be ‘banned in China’ is reaching a bit, really.

Much more likely that there’s Chinese rules about prioritising Chinese-made or China-set movies when deciding which films get a cinema release in the country. Sounds like they routinely prioritise Chinese films during the summer, and that it may have started happening all year round.

Isn’t this why franchises like Fast & Furious or Mission Impossible started including big sequences set and shot in China? To get on to the list of ‘local’ films?