The latest X-Men film Dark Phoenix is being removed from over 1,600 theaters. The movie came out two weeks ago and has only made $208 million worldwide on a $200 million budget.
The decision was likely in reaction to the 83% drop off during the second week at the box office and the loss of over $100 million during opening weekend.
The news comes from Cinemablend, which detailed other reasons for the removal:
“Basically, this boils down to a “survival of the fittest” mentality at the box office. Theaters need to create screens for movies people might actually want to see, and Toy Story 4, Child’s Play, and the pending Spider-Man: Far From Home are going to demand a lot of screens.
Beyond that, Disney and local theaters are bracing for the onslaught that should occur when The Lion King opens on July 19. After that, Quentin Tarantino has his epic Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and you KNOW that QT cares about the theaters that are ready to present his ninth film.”
Disney doesn’t have any time to see if the results will turn around for the newest X-Men movie, as probably even fewer viewers will see it this coming weekend due to the other likely blockbusters. I was surprised by the lackluster results of the movie, as the last movie in the series, X-Men: The Last Stand, doubled its production costs.