Malignant: Every Reason Why The Movie Was A Box-Office Failure

Here’s every reason why Malignant was a box-office failure. The reason why Malignant was in the eyes of the critics and audience alike is. because it was James Wan’s grand return to the horror genre. This decision wasn’t well-received by the fans because this is the genre that made him a player in the industry with movies like Saw and The Conjuring. Wan then inclined towards directing DC’s epic blockbuster Aquaman. That is why, when the news broke that Wan is returning with Malignant, the expectations were high. However, here’s every reason why the movie was a box-office failure. Check it out!

1. Vs. Shang-Chi

One thing to learn from this is that you do not release a movie when Marvel is releasing a movie too. Wan’s Malignant was released only one week after Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Even though both the movies have different demographics when it comes to viewers, Marvel is known to attract audiences from almost every genre. This is a major reason why Wan’s movie could not perform that well.

2. HBO Max Release

Another major reason why the movie did not do well is because of the HBO Max release. Just like every other movie, Wan’s Malignant too was released simultaneously on HBO Max which obviously kills the box office collection. And of course, why would someone leave their comfort and go to the theatre.

3. Weak Marketing

You cannot expect a movie to perform if it is not well marketed. Even successful franchises that have earned billions do not shy from spending in the marketing sector because they know important it is. It’s true that the die-hard horror movie fans were aware of it, but what about the normal moviegoers? Moreover, the movie couldn’t have been promoted much because of the shocking twist. So WB decided not to promote in a full-on manner. Hence, the promotion was pretty covert and failed to appeal to the audience at large. Thus resulting in bad box-office numbers.

4. Mixed Reviews

Now, this is the main reason why the movie did not perform well. Ever heard about word-of-mouth promotion? This is exactly what happened with Wan’s recent film. Malignant‘s professional reviews leaned into a good direction with its 76% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, this is where the real problem lies. The movie’s critics and audience reviews are totally out of sync. On one hand, we have 76%, and on the other, we have a 52% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. This is not a good score and definitely takes a hit at the movie’s reputation.

5. Who Loved The Twist & Who Didn’t?

Another major factor that has affected the movie in total is the final Gabriel twist. The reviews are somewhat divided as some of them are loving the twist because things go batsh*t crazy near the end, and some just didn’t vibe with it. This is why changing the perception at the end of the movie is so dangerous as it might divide the audience into two halves. Have you seen the movie yet? What do you think?