In 2019, another version of The Addams Family made its way into theaters with an all-star voice cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, and Chloe Grace Moretz. The animated feature was met with a middle-of-the-road critical reception; however, it managed to garner over $200 million worldwide based on its $24 million production budget. Of course, that amazing financial return usually means a sequel, which officially made its way into theaters on Oct 1, 2021. Unfortunately, The Addams Family 2 got abysmal reviews and the film failed to make any sort of impression at the box office, only making about $40 million thus far. The animated film had a solid hold in the second weekend, only dropping 52%; however, the domestic accumulated total resulted in nearly $31.8 million, just under the $30 million the first film made in its opening weekend. So, what happened? While it’s not a confirmed flop yet, there really hasn’t been much hype or chatter about the new Addams Family movie. Let’s deeply examine why the animated film is basically being ignored by audiences. Obviously, the pandemic plays a factor in every movie that’s release in theaters so that reasoning won’t be listed here.
The Hype For The Addams Family 2 Barely Existed
Marketing is everything; however, you don’t need to be a genius to figure this out. Tons of hype can help entice audiences to watch a movie. This going from an exciting trailer to strong word of mouth. Sometimes, no matter how great the marketing is, a movie can still flop (looking at you The Suicide Squad and John Carter); however, there’s no denying that a ton of marketing is better than little to no marketing. This is the case for The Addams Family 2; Instead of boasting about their impressive cast and highlighting that the animated feature is the only kid’s movie playing in theaters at the moment, it barely received any advertisements. This movie is coming out in theaters at the same time as No Time To Die (which garnered over $ 50 million during opening weekend), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Which has made over $100 million in its first two weeks), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Free Guy. The upcoming movie market isn’t going to get better as Halloween Kills (Oct 15), Dune (Oct 22), and Last Night Soho (Oct 29) is set to be released. Plus, Ron’s Gone Wrong, another animated film with some strong critical reception is set for October 22. There’s just no hype for The Addams Family sequel and the bad buzz surrounding the film’s quality clearly isn’t doing the movie any favors.
The Addams Family Movie Truly Fails To Take Advantage Of Its Unique Property
The first film failed to capture the offbeat, macabre vibe that the original series is known for. Yes, The Addams Family is portrayed as kooky and weird in the 2019 film, but it’s all still a bright and colorful movie. The grim and dark tone is barely present despite the oddball characters and the overall story was a pedestrian affair that you’ve seen countless times. The Addams Family never felt like a unique world that only this cast of characters could be in. It came across as another generic fish-out-of-water story that had its edge ripped out because executives wanted this to be a family film. I’m not stating that this should’ve been a Rated-R gorefest, but The Addams Family fails to understand why this intellectual property was such a fun commodity in the 1960s TV show. Unnecessary popular culture references, lazy and obvious jokes, and not truly diving into the weirdness of the family likely turned away audiences after watching the first animated film. The cast does what they can do with the material they’re given, but the script lets them down at nearly every turn.
The Addams Family Just Isn’t That Popular
In retrospect, The Addams Family just isn’t that popular of a property in the first place. The show was canceled after two seasons during its original television run back in the 1960s. Unfortunately, audiences enjoyed The Munsters a lot more. While the live-action movie managed to amass over $100 million at the box office in 1991, the sequel, The Addams Family Values, only saw a return of $48.90 million. Overall, the property doesn’t have the name value of Terminator, Aliens, Batman, or animated classics like Toy Story, The Lion King, or Snow White. When people generally discuss popular culture, The Addams Family doesn’t come up much, though the franchise does have a cult following. In a way, The Addams Family is like the Blade Runner franchise as both properties have a niche fanbase.
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