The Sopranos is a cultural phenom that put HBO and anti-heroes on the map. This crime drama centers around Tony Soprano (the late and great James Gandolfini), an Italian-American mobster who balances his life in the criminal world with family. For six seasons, David Chase managed to make some of the most unlikeable characters highly compelling; The Sopranos was hard to watch sometimes; however, the show was always an entertaining balance that showcased the criminal world. Over ten years later, the world of The Sopranos makes its return in a prequel called, The Many Saints of Newark, which actually follows a Young Anthony Soprano growing up in the all-powerful DiMeo crime family. The film made its official release on October 1st and the movie came out to favorable reviews, though the critical reception didn’t meet the highs that The Sopranos received from their time on television. However, the prequel failed to make a splash during its opening weekend, only garnering $4.7 million, barely half of its $50 million production costs.
While it’s too early to call the film an outright flop, with Venom – which earned a strong $90 million-plus during opening weekend – in theaters, and No Time To Die, Halloween Kills, Dune, and Last Night in Soho making their way into multiplexes in the coming weeks, the chances of the prequel making bank are pretty slim. So, what happened? The Sopranos is widely regarding as one of the best television shows ever, thus the intellectual property has name value. Obviously, the pandemic and the day-to-day HBO release played a factor in its box office total; however, it’s clear that audiences weren’t too interested in the movie since Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, and Godzilla vs. Kong were able to make over $100 million once their box office runs ended. Let’s dive deeper into the reasons The Many Saints of Newark was a disappointment in the opening weekend.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage Killed Most Of The Many Saints Of Newark’s Momentum
Venom: Let There Be Carnage only received lukewarm reviews from critics; however, the movie was hotly anticipated due to a certain end-credit scene (don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything). That moment plays a huge factor in a well-known franchise, and with that shocking news, audiences stormed out to see the new Sony picture. Plus, Venom was already a popular property thanks to being one of Spiderman’s top villains in the comic books. The first film received terrible critical reception; however, it made nearly $900 million worldwide. There was clearly high interest in the upcoming sequel, whereas the buzz for The Many Saints of Newark wasn’t even close to being as high as the comic book film.
David Chase And HBO took Too Long To Capitalize On The Sopranos Popularity
The series finale took place back in 2006. Times have drastically changed since then. These days, superhero films dominate the box office and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. The Sopranos was a hot property for its time and many still consider the series a gem, but the excitement for the upcoming prequel didn’t spark much interest from fans wanting to revisit The Sopranos world. It could be the fact that this isn’t about Tony Soprano, who was the face of the entire series. The mob boss is definitely in the movie, but the focus is never truly on him. If you check the audience score on rotten tomatoes, it currently sits at a low 58%, with some people complaining that it wasn’t showcasing Tony Soprano’s rise through the ranks to become the man that he was in the original series. With that realization, the prequel likely lead to some poor word-of-mouth about the film. There’s no true reason why the film failed to reignite the franchise this past weekend; however, it’s clear that some fans were hoping for more insight into Tony Soprano’s backstory.
Some Fans Are Still Annoyed About The Show’s Ending
Spoiler alert, the series finale ended with Tony and his family at a restaurant and the scene is seemingly building up to something big. There were several suspicious characters roaming around in the diner; however, before anything truly happens, the show cuts to black after Meadow parks her car. Tony’s fate was left up in the air. Back in 2006, this move caused a big uproar, with some liking the ambiguous ending and others absolutely despising it. It’s possible that the series finale left a bad taste for some former fans and they simply had no interest in revisiting The Sopranos world.James GandolfiniThe Sopranos
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