‘Dark Phoenix’ Director Simon Kinberg Takes Blame for Film’s Failure
Written by SOURCE on June 17, 2019
Dark Phoenix was an unmitigated flop, no matter how you slice it.
Given its estimated $200 million production cost before marketing, Phoenix couldn’t afford to get off to a bad start at the box office. With just over $200 million worldwide in its first 10 days, the film is in danger of never getting out of the red.
Being the most disliked film in the X-Men series, according to Rotten Tomatoes, the reception was cold at the box office, grossing a dismal $32.8 million on its opening weekend, making it the worst debut ever for an X-Men movie since 2013’s The Wolverine, which made $53 million.
Phoenix maintained its freefall at the box office, dropping 83 percent in its second week where it earned just $2.3 million on its second Friday. In the face of Phoenix‘s continued downfall, the film’s director Simon Kinberg took full responsibility for the failures of the final chapter in Fox’s X-Men franchise.
“I’m here and I’m saying when a movie doesn’t work, put it on me,” Kinberg said on the KCRW podcast The Business. “I’m the writer/director of the movie, the movie didn’t connect with audiences, that’s on me.”
Despite the current negativity surrounding Dark Phoenix, Kinberg still fondly looks back at his time making the movie with the cast and crew. “I loved making the movie,” he adds, “and I loved the people I made the movie with.”
