‘Blue Beetle’ Review: DC Superhero Entry Gets By With Heart, Humor & Sterling Cast

James Gunn is addressing the Ben Affleck rumors.

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.

Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) have been set to star in The Wrecking Crew, a buddy action comedy that Blue Beetle‘s Ángel Manuel Soto will direct for MGM, Deadline can confirm.

Blue Beetle has dethroned Barbie at the US box office, ending the film’s four-week reign at the number one spot.As reported by Variety, the DC superhero film took the top spot with a lower-than-expected debut of $25.4million (£19.9million) in the US. Globally, the film earned $43million (£33.7million) in its opening weekend, against a production budget of $104million (£81.7million).Barbie, meanwhile, fell to second place with $21.5million (£16.8million), an impressive amount considering it was released last month.In the US, Barbie is expected to overtake The Super Mario Bros.

Refresh for latest…: It’s been another very busy weekend at the international box office with milestones and great holds, as well as a new entry and local-language movies adding to the mix. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Blue Beetle is here!

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.

Angelique Jackson Amid the ongoing Hollywood strikes, Warner Bros. and DC Studios launched “Blue Beetle” on Tuesday night in Los Angeles with a star-free “fan screening” in lieu of a splashy blue-carpet premiere. Despite the fact that the film’s actors — including Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, George Lopez and Oscar winners Adriana Barraza and Susan Sarandon — could not attend due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, there was still plenty of fanfare outside the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

In what is poised to be a case of Warner Bros beating itself for the No. 1 spot at the box office this coming weekend, the studio’s new DC superhero title, Blue Beetle, is poised to halt Barbie‘s three-weekend streak with a $28M-$32M opening. Barbie, meanwhile per industry sources, is looking at a $22M-$24M fourth weekend, -30%. Through Monday, the Greta Gerwig directed Mattel doll feature counts $531.2M.

Angel Manuel Soto is a filmmaker who directs to capture specific, authentic experiences, especially if they relate to his heritage. Born in Puerto Rico, many of Soto’s earliest short films – including several non-narrative works such as “The Second Line: A Parade Against Violence” – as well as his feature directorial debut, “La Granja,” contrast a pride in his Latin roots against the inequalities that come with it.