‘Blue Beetle’ review: Gasp! A DC movie is actually fun for once

While he probably hoped “Blue Beetle” would have had a bigger opening weekend, it doesn’t appear director Angel Manuel Soto is struggling to find a new project. In fact, he’s already lined up “The Wrecking Crew” as his next film, with two massive stars in the lead roles.

Blue Beetle” took down “Barbie” at this past weekend’s box office. The film came in the first spot with a $25.4 million opening, earning an additional $18 million internationally. The film is led by 22 year old Xolo Maridueña, playing Jaime Reyes.

While he probably hoped “Blue Beetle” would have had a bigger opening weekend, it doesn’t appear director Angel Manuel Soto is struggling to find a new project. In fact, he’s already lined up “The Wrecking Crew” as his next film, with two massive stars in the lead roles.

Over the weekend, DC Studios released “Blue Beetle,” the latest attempt to kickstart a superhero franchise. And judging by the opening weekend box office, while it was the #1 film domestically, not nearly as many people watched Angel Manuel Soto’s superhero film as the studio might have hoped.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Daniel D’Addario is stepping into a new role at Variety. The journalist, who was brought on as chief television critic in 2018, has been named chief correspondent for the magazine, co-editors-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh and Cynthia Littleton announced.

The DC superhero film “Blue Beetle” led weekend ticket sales with a modest $25.4 million opening, according to studio estimates Sunday, dethroning “Barbie” from the top spot after a record-setting run that left movie theatres coloured pink for a month.

Blue Beetle has made its box office debut!

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Blue Beetle” has dethroned “Barbie” at the domestic box office. The latest DC superhero adventure claimed the No. 1 spot despite a softer-than-expected debut of $25.4 million.

Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Blue Beetle,” now playing in theaters. Warner Bros.’ “Blue Beetle” has arrived, and it marks another in-between point for the DC Universe, which is in the middle of being rebooted by James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new co-CEOs of DC Studios.

DC’s latest addition to superhero cinema, Blue Beetle (★★☆☆☆), seems to thread together two disparate films that the makers struggle mightily to fuse into a satisfying, cohesive whole.At its most successful, the movie, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings), introduces Mexican college grad Jaime Reyes, played by Cobra Kai’s Xolo Maridueña, along with Jaime’s loving, but financially imperiled family. Dad Alberto (Damián Alcázar), mom Rocio (Elpidio Carrillo), younger sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), crazy conspiracy theory-addled uncle Rudy (George Lopez), and feisty matriarch Nana (Adriana Barraza, who almost steals the show) all rally around Jaime when a mysterious sapphire-blue scarab latches onto his body and consciousness, making him an unwilling host to a “world-destroying weapon.” Time spent with Jaime and the Reyes family, steeped in authentic Latino culture, humor, and relationships, plays like the warmly comic pilot episode of a sitcom I’d gladly binge.Each episode could include a flashback to the adventures of Nana Reyes, which, based on the hints she drops, would be as thrilling and dangerous as anything Jaime encounters in his new scarab-assisted superhero form as Blue Beetle.That brings us to the other, less successful counterpart to the Meet the Reyes Family sitcom: the relatively lame-ass origin story of another DC Comics hero that’s so clearly intended as a setup for future appearances that it fails to do anything interesting with the character’s big-screen debut.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Oscar-winning costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo is no stranger to designing superhero costumes. Her credits include “WandaVision,” “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Werewolves by Night.” But when it came to working on “Blue Beetle,” Rubeo says, “It took a long time to develop.

Even though kids are heading back to school, the summer box office isn’t giving up yet, and there’s a chance we could near $4 billion thanks to the final act power of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Warner Bros is hoping the first Latino superhero movie, Blue Beetle, will stoke its core moviegoers; that DC title seeing $3.3M last night in previews that began at 2PM from 3,400 locations, while Universal is looking to give guys something to laugh at after Oppenheimer with the R-rated bawdy doggie comedy, Strays, grossing $1.1M from showtimes that began at 5PM at 2,700 theaters.

Jordan Moreau “Barbie” has reigned over the box office with a historic, hot-pink theatrical run over the past four weeks, but now it’s facing its biggest challenge yet: DC’s latest superhero film, “Blue Beetle.” The comic book film, led by “Cobra Kai” star Xolo Maridueña, picked up $3.3 million in Thursday previews at the domestic box office. It’ll be a close box office battle between “Barbie” and “Blue Beetle” (both from Warner Bros.), but the latter is tipped to come out on top in its opening weekend. “Blue Beetle” is projected to make between $25 million to $32 million this weekend, while “Barbie” is poised to add $17 million to $20 million in its fifth week.

Blue Beetle has been released – check it out below.Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, the DC superhero outing follows Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) who gains superpowers after an alien Blue Beetle scarab grafts onto his body and gives him a powerful exoskeleton.The film is the first live-action superhero film with a Latino lead, with Xolo Maridueña (Cobra Kai) taking up the mantle. Other members of the cast include Bruna Marquezine, Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo and Susan Sarandon.Bobby Krlic, also known under his stage name The Haxan Cloak, composed the score for Blue Beetle.

There’s a new DC Comics movie in theaters – Blue Beetle is out now!

is the newest hero in the DC cinematic universe, and he's got his work cut out for him!Director Ángel Manuel Soto recently sat down with ET's Ash Crossan to talk about making the first major superhero movie with a Latino lead — and the uphill battle that has been releasing it amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. «The strike was not in my bingo card,» Soto admitted.

director Ángel Manuel Soto knew that making the first major superhero movie with a Latino lead would require a pitch-perfect cast. That included the voice of the alien Scarab, which becomes the Blue Beetle's exoskeleton supersuit when it attaches to host Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña).So, whom did he cast? None other than Mexican-American pop superstar Becky G!«I really wanted to work with Becky G,» Soto raved to ET's Ash Crossan in a recent interview.

Xolo Maridueña is experiencing a life changing moment. The actor and star of “Blue Beetle” plays a superhero, with the film placing an emphasis on Latin representation, one that remains all too rare in mainstream cinema. 21 Netflix original series and films featuring Latinx talent in front of or behind the camera‘Cobra Kai’ actress Vanessa Rubio is proud of the series Latinx representationIn an interview with PEOPLE conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strikes, Maridueña discussed the life changing opportunity that this film represents.

Xolo Maridueña wants Blue Beetle to perform well at the box office, and he’s explaining why that’s so important.

Director Ángel Manuel Soto didn’t think too much about the “Latino side of things” when visually crafting DC’s “Blue Beetle” alongside Mexican screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

The latest D.C. superhero movie is not another grim Batman sequel, or yet another Superman reboot.