‘Blue Beetle’ Review: A Familiar, But Fun & Winning Superhero Movie With Much-Welcome Latinx Identity At Its Center

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.

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.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The Post called the superhero movie — which stars Xolo Maridueña of “Cobra Kai” fame — “refreshingly spry.”The Ángel Manuel Soto-directed film is on track to rake in $25 to $27 million in North America this weekend alone, according to The Hollywood Reporter.It has already made history by being the first live-action superhero film centered around a Latino protagonist.It managed to beat out “Barbie,” who reigned at the box office for the four Fridays since its opening on July 21. It landed in second place with $6.2 million in sales.The fantasy comedy will be available to stream at home on Sept.

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.

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.

DC Comics’ dreadful movies deserve to be violently squished, but not “Blue Beetle,” a refreshingly spry new film featuring the lesser-loved, bug-shaped superhero who’s been crawling around in some form since 1939.Running time: 127 minutes. Rated PG-13 (sequences of action and violence, language, and some suggestive references.) In theaters Aug.

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.

Keep an eye peeled for these Easter Eggs when you see DC’s Blue Beetle in theaters – Just Jared Jr There’s been an update about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s royal titles – Celebitchy Doja Cat revealed a reason why she feels “free” – Popsugar Two hugely famous YouTubers met up for the very first time – Just Jared Jr

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.

Blue Beetle is here!

Give the waning days of the old era of DC movies at Warner Bros some credit for going out in style. I might have been something of a dissenting voice, but I thought June’s big-screen The Flash, despite disappointing some fanboys and at the box office, was a winning affair, a step above most superhero fare. And now I can say the same for the first cinematic attempt at bringing Blue Beetle to life, a much better movie than its August 18 release date might indicate.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Is comic-book movie culture reaching a tipping point…into peak exhaustion? This summer, we’ve seen signs of that in the ho-hum box-office returns for “The Flash” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” To be fair, the mega-success of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” has testified to the genre’s continuing appeal. Still, there are onscreen indicators that the superhero-movie audience, while it remains vast, might be entering the thrill-is-gone zone.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Will “Blue Beetle,” the latest DC superhero adaptation, knock down “Barbie” at the domestic box office? It may be a closer-than-expected race between the two Warner Bros. releases for the top spot, despite “Barbie” entering its fifth weekend in theaters. “Blue Beetle,” starring Xolo Maridueña as the alien symbiote, is targeting $25 million to $32 million in its debut.