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Elizabeth Banks Sparks Controversy After Defending 'Charlie's Angels' Flopping At The Box Office
This past Friday, the reboot of Charlie's Angels premiered at major movie theaters.
For its first weekend in theaters, it isn't performing well, bringing in a mere 8.6 million dollars.
Hunger Games actress, Elizabeth Banks, has actively spoken out about why she feels the movie isn't performing well, but her opinions haven't been particularly popular, either.
Banks was fully-integrated into this film and is thoroughly invested in its success. She wrote, directed and produced the film, in addition to filling one of the leading roles as an Angel.
Since the movie's opening weekend flop, Banks has taken to Twitter to talk about the movie.
She began by sharing her pride for her involvement in the film, whether or not it proves to be successful.
Banks wrote:
"Well, if you're going to have a flop, make sure your name is on it at least 4x. I'm proud of #CharliesAngels and happy it's in the world."
Well, if you’re going to have a flop, make sure your name is on it at least 4x. I’m proud of #CharliesAngels and happy it’s in the world.— Elizabeth Banks (@Elizabeth Banks) 1574099647.0
After giving the film her best, however, Banks used the opportunity to talk about the more pressing issues behind why the female-led film may not be doing well.
Banks said:
"Look, people have to buy tickets to this movie, too. This movie has to make money. If this money doesn't make money it reinforces a stereotype in Hollywood that men don't go see women do action movies."
Banks anticipated that the next word out of anyone's mouth would be about Captain Marvel or Wonder Woman, which she cited as part of the problem of Hollywood being predominantly a man's world.
Banks explained:
"[Men will] go and see a comic book movie with Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, because that's a male-genre... So even though those are movies about women, they put them in the context of feeding the larger comic book world, so it's all about, yes, you're watching a Wonder Woman movie but we're setting up three other characters or we're setting up Justice League."
This is an interesting take on two films that have predominantly been viewed as female-empowerment films.
In a way, Banks marked these films as stepping stones toward other "larger" films that would include the more popular male characters from the same universe. By creating a film about Wonder Woman, Banks argues, we're not necessarily emphasizing the power of Wonder Woman as a woman, but instead we're building up to a Justice League film that includes bigger male characters, like Batman and Superman.
Banks also commented on the initial concern that it's simply too soon for a Charlie's Angels reboot.
To this, Banks responded:
"You've had 37 Spider-Man movies and you're not complaining! I think women are allowed to have one or two action franchises every 17 years - I feel totally fine with that."
Though this later statement was a little tongue-in-cheek, arguing that women deserve more space in Hollywood, particularly in the action genre, is well-deserved, especially in late 2019.
Unfortunately, Banks' thoughts were not well-received overall.
Most of the comments have been in reaction to Banks' comments about the timing of the reboot, relating the film to Marvel and DC's content and qualifying comic book films as a "male-genre."
@BuzzFeed Was anyone asking for another Charlie’s Angels reboot/remake? What made her think it would be a success?… https://t.co/ZvKP903fkf— Meh (@Meh) 1574115774.0
@BuzzFeed Here’s some quick takes: 1. Marketing was terrible, I didn’t even know it was out in theaters. 2. Ppl a… https://t.co/nSAHbQOEyK— Riggs (@Riggs) 1574116069.0
@ElizabethBanks It didn't flop because it's bad, it flopped because people were too proud to accept it could be goo… https://t.co/0RHKnD8FDB— Taty (@Taty) 1574109694.0
However, some of have been in support of Banks' ideas, examining what she probably intended in more depth.
Elizabeth banks didn’t lie when she classified these films as “male genre” because none of these had a fully female… https://t.co/0gP6g8mwOh— Seb's🎼 (@Seb's🎼) 1574077288.0
@ElizabethBanks people preach about strong female characters and more female led films woman and diversity but neve… https://t.co/qG0vrgeTaA— ѕнαмєєη. ❄️ (@ѕнαмєєη. ❄️) 1574104542.0
With only the opening weekend at a close, there is still plenty of time to see the Charlie's Angels reboot.
Whether or not it's everyone's favorite flavor, it's fair to say that women need more space in the action genre. Perhaps going to see a movie that's creating that room is a step in the right direction.
The original series that inspired all of the reboots, Charlie's Angels - The Complete Series, is available here.