In the age of the shared cinematic universe, every studio is looking for their own mega-franchise to develop, but Universal's Dark Universe property got off to a bad start earlier this month. Conceived as a reboot of Universal's iconic monster characters, the series kicked off with The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise. Despite the leading man's history as one of the most convincing action heroes (always willing to go the extra mile for stunts), the movie struggled mightily when it reached theaters. Becoming the latest summer 2017 would-be tentpole to fall short of expectations, The Mummy has earned just $68.5 million domestically in three weeks. Even with a global total of $342.1 million, it's estimated the project will cost Universal $95 million when it's all said and done.

It was certainly not the start the studio was hoping for, as they have various Dark Universe films in development. Prior to The Mummy's release, they unveiled a cast photo that included famous faces such as Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp joining Cruise, and The Bride of Frankenstein is currently scheduled for a February 2019 premiere. However, the performance of The Mummy has some wondering if the franchise is doomed before it really even got off the ground, and if Universal is to forge ahead and keep it going, they'll need to figure out why The Mummy came up short so they can try to course-correct for the future. Here are the main reasons why we feel The Mummy failed at the box office.

Poor Word-of-Mouth

The Mummy and Tom Cruise

There's no denying that some blockbuster titles are "critic proof," meaning no matter how bad the reviews get, it will still turn a profit in the marketplace. That said, in recent years there has been some correlation between a movie's critical reception and how it does at the box office. It's probably no coincidence that the best-received productions of the year - such as Get Out, Logan, and Wonder Woman (among others) - have done very well in ticket sales. In contrast, potential blockbusters that failed to generate enthusiasm (King Arthur, Baywatch, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) stumbled out of the gate and weren't able to pick up the pieces. Some of these went on to become egregious bombs, while others had to rely on the international box office for a majority of its grosses.

The Mummy clearly falls into the latter category. Many pundits wrote it off as a bland, messy start to a shared universe that forgot what made characters like the Mummy so memorable in the first place. The script was accused of being heavy on exposition and set-up for future installments, seemingly forgetting that its most pertinent issue was to make sure The Mummy itself was an engaging summer blockbuster. Because the film was widely panned (just 15% on Rotten Tomatoes), casual audiences were provided no real reason to rush out to the theater to see it. The original Mummy movies starring Brendan Fraser were solid hits when they were released, but the series didn't necessarily leave the kind of cultural footprint needed to carry a reinterpretation such as this. Properties like Batman, James Bond, and Star Wars can release after years (or decades) between entries since there's perpetual interest in them. The Mummy needed the reviews to be strong in order to give it a boost, and it came up well short in that department.

Tom Cruise in The Mummy and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman

Additionally, Universal could not have picked a worse time to release The Mummy. Just one week before Cruise introduced audiences to the Dark Universe, Warner Bros. captured the zeitgeist with Wonder Woman. The DC Extended Universe's latest installment was a triumphant critical smash, earning some of the best reviews of any comic book adaptation. Couple that with the overwhelming demand for a female-led superhero film in the modern era, there was much support for Wonder Woman and it demonstrated strong legs throughout its run (and continues to do well at the box office). Even WB was caught off-guard by its success, so one can only imagine how nervous Universal executives felt when they saw the numbers come in. Seeing that Wonder Woman earned more than $100 million in its first three days, The Mummy had an uphill climb as it tried to contend for the attention of the summer movie crowds.

The easy answer here is to simply make a better film next time - one that could pique the interest of critics and encourage audiences to see it. It's easy to look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe and think its crossovers and interconnectivity are to credit for its worldwide success, but Phase 1 projects like Iron Man and Captain America: The First Avenger needed to be of high-quality in order to establish momentum. At the time, the likes of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were B-list superheroes and earned millions of fans by starring in entertaining movies. Seeing so many great characters join forces together in something like The Avengers is an exciting prospect, but viewers need to be on board with everything first.

Next Page: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Tom%20Cruise%20Isn%27t%20a%20Box%20Office%20Draw%20Anymore']

Tom Cruise's Dwindling Star

For a period of around 20 years, Tom Cruise was one of the safest box office locks in Hollywood. Whether it was genre fare like Mission: Impossible or an awards-contending drama a la Rain Man or Jerry Maguire, a movie could sell itself with his name alone. Cruise won audiences over with sheer commitment to his craft and natural charisma. There was no doubt he was an A-lister, and even a project where he portrayed the villain (Collateral) could make over $100 million domestically. In the previous era where stars were what made films, Cruise was about as big as you can get, raking in $3.7 billion in U.S. ticket sales.

But lately, Cruise's movies haven't been posting as high of numbers as they once did. With the exception of the most recent Mission: Impossible installments, his résumé over the last handful of years hasn't been that impressive. Musical Rock of Ages earned $38.5 million in the States. Oblivion barely turned a profit with the foreign figures. Last year's Jack Reacher: Never Go Back essentially killed a franchise by earning only $58.6 million domestically. Even Edge of Tomorrow, which earned a following on home media and is getting a sequel, was a slow burn at the box office, just sneaking past $100 million in the U.S. It's clear Cruise isn't the draw he used to be, and studios can no longer rely merely on his presence to make a movie a hit.

This isn't a slight against Cruise, or any big name in the business today. It's a byproduct of the changing Hollywood landscape. Nowadays, an individual actor isn't the star - the brand is. Daisy Ridley had no feature film credits to her name when she landed the role of Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but that film didn't need to be carried by a well-known thespian. Fans have fun envisioning celebrities like Tom Hardy and Idris Elba as the next 007, but an unknown can play James Bond and the next mission will still turn a hefty profit. There's such a premium put on franchises in the 21st century because those are the guaranteed moneymakers. With production budgets rising to hundreds of millions of dollars, executives want to take safe, calculated risks with a promise of high return on investment. As indicated earlier in this article, The Mummy is not one of those industry-defining properties with a large, built-in fan base. The demand for a new Mummy in 2017 wasn't there. Universal was trying to recapture the spirit of a bygone time.

Unfortunately, the Dark Universe may not have many options on the table unless they're willing to bite the bullet and recast key roles so soon after announcing them. Cruise's co-stars aren't exactly the box office titans they used to be either. Depp, once a massive draw, has seen his popularity decline over the years due to poor career choices and controversy surrounding his personal life. Bardem, an Oscar-winning actor who delivers one great performance after another, is more of a critical darling than an audience favorite, if his commercial track record is anything to go by. Unsurprisingly, his most successful feature is 2012's Skyfall, where he played Bond villain Silva. Russell Crowe is in a similar boat, since films like The Nice Guys, 3:10 to Yuma, and Master and Commander all scored positive reviews, but didn't make much of an impact at the box office. The trouble Universal faces is that their monster characters are not relevant in today's pop culture, so they're stuck.

Conclusion

Universal Pictures Dark Universe Logo

It's easy to look at The Mummy and scoff at the Dark Universe for being ill-conceived from the start, but given Universal is trying to make it work, it's worth wondering what they can do to repair things down the road. This may be impossible, but it would be intriguing if they went against the grain and trimmed the budgets of these films so they're more in line with today's horror movies. That genre has had a fruitful couple of years, and it's a smart investment for the studios since they do not cost so much to make and have an easier road to turning a profit. The mid-budget movie is a lost art form, but there could be some use in reviving it so the Dark Universe isn't so expensive to produce and advertise.

And while that would be one way of making things better, this franchise isn't going to succeed unless there's a marked improvement in quality. If The Mummy was a thrilling adventure film and earned critical praise, this probably wouldn't be a discussion. Due to rising ticket and concession prices, audiences are more selective of what they go see in the theater, so there's pressure to simply make good movies. Universal may also want to be careful about where they place future Dark Universe entries on the release schedule - far away from anything based on a comic book or set in a galaxy far, far away. Bride of Frankenstein is in a bad spot right now, opening against an untitled Fox Marvel film. The studio could shift Frankenstein to a different window in order to maximize ticket sales.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the Dark Universe moving forward. The Mummy did much better internationally than it did in the States, which can typically be enough for the suits. It doesn't matter Transformers: The Last Knight scored the lowest five-day start in the history of the franchise as long as it does well in other regions like China. Paramount is still marking full steam ahead on an expanded Transformers cinematic universe with spinoffs like Bumblebee. It's true The Mummy lost money, but going up against Wonder Woman meant the odds were stacked against it. Perhaps if it had a weekend all to itself, it would have done better. Regardless, Universal needs to decide how they plan on fixing things or just cancel the Dark Universe to save more losses.

MORE: The Dark Universe Doesn't Need America

Key Release Dates