Marvel fans might have celebrated when Disney completed its acquisition of 21st Century Fox and the studio's film and television assets, but along with the purchase came some of Fox's not-as-successful projects like this year's X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Not only did Dark Phoenix receive poor reviews from fans and from critics, but the conclusion to Fox's X-Men film franchise also failed spectacularly at the box office. Now, speaking in an interview with Variety, Disney CCO and co-chairman Alan Horn talks about how disappointing Fox's box office flops have been for the Mickey Mouse House.
In the interview, Horn addresses films like Dark Phoenix's poor box office performance, chalking up the studio's movies to the competitive nature of the Hollywood industry.
"Of course it was disappointing. There's a good old saying: ‘The crow doesn't taste very good but it is nutrition.' Everyone learns from failure. I certainly experienced failure in my career. We were disappointed at the results of those [Fox] films," the Disney executive explained in his interview with Variety, "We didn't know anything about them, we didn't see them. Before the acquisition, we were not allowed to see them because of the so-called gun-jumping rules. We are not allowed to interact with them, give them advice, tell them what to do or what not to do. We were completely hands-off, it was up to them.
Though Horn doesn't want to be too tough on Fox, the Disney CCO reminds fans that films like Dark Phoenix exist in the Hollywood Film industry. Fox has to learn to keep up with the competition and to make better films.
Right now, Marvel fans are eager to see what Marvel might be able to do for the mutants once they cross over to the MCU – though it seems like it's going to take a while before Marvel decides to incorporate the X-Men and the Fantastic Four in the franchise.
What did you think of Dark Phoenix? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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