On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, in our Box Office segment, Variety’s Jack Dunn breaks down a rough weekend for “Supergirl” and a big frame for “Toy Story 5” and “Michael.” And Todd Spangler explains why Comcast is hauling out the corporate meat cleaver to separate NBCUniversal and Sky from the core Comcast cable and tech assets.
Variety reporter Jack Dunn says “Supergirl” simply didn’t resonate with enough younger fans in their social feeds to drive a big opening weekend. It’s part of the larger problem around superhero movies.
As a big consumer of movies, Dunn sees a certain sameness to the storytelling that has set it and needs a big shakeup. “Whoever has the gusto to make a superhero movie that feels different than the last 15 years of superhero movies. DC does have ‘Clayface’ coming out in October, that movie does seem like it is offering a new lens to superhero genre, with body horror,” Dunn says. DC Studios chief James Gunn “comes from a horror background. I imagine he must be curating a cool vibe, a spooky vibe for October. I am really curious to see how they take a superhero story in that direction. You saw it with Robert Pattinson’s ‘The Batman’ [in 2022]. That definitely was more of a drama detective, almost procedural film. And everybody loved that. ‘Clayface’ will be the test of what DC has That’s their ace up their sleeve — they’re willing to experiment.”
