Dear Evan Hansen hits wrong notes as Shang-Chi stays top of US box office

Los Angeles

DEAR Evan Hansen, the Universal Pictures adaptation of the smash Broadway musical, failed to strike a chord with moviegoers over the weekend.

Marred by negative reviews and Covid-19 concerns, the film fell short of expectations and collected a muted US$7.5 million from 3,365 North American theatres in its debut.

Industry experts predicted the movie musical would make at least US$10 million between last Friday and Sunday.

Even though the film seems unlikely to turn a profit in cinemas, the losses will not be catastrophic.

Dear Evan Hansen cost US$28 million to produce, a modest budget for a musical. That puts Universal in a much better position compared to its last movie musical Cats, which opened to US$6.5 million in late 2019 and ultimately lost the studio nearly all of its US$100 million budget.

The critical response to Dear Evan Hansen has been vastly different than the glowing reactions that greeted the 2016 stage version, which netted six Tony Awards and cemented lead actor Ben Platt as a star.

It underscores the struggle to bring even commercially popular musicals to the big screen. Platt reprised his role as Evan Hansen, an anxious high-school student who finds himself tangled in a lie that spirals out of control. Many criticised the casting choice because the 27-year-old Platt does not look like a teenager.

There was at least one positive: Audiences - at least the few who bought a ticket on opening weekend - appeared to like Dear Evan Hansen more than critics did.

It landed an A-minus rating on CinemaScore from moviegoers, which is exponentially better than its 33 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Given the underwhelming turnout for Dear Evan Hansen, reigning box office champion Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had no trouble staying atop domestic charts, even in its fourth weekend of release.

The Disney superhero adventure added a solid US$13.3 million in ticket sales, bringing its domestic tally to US$196.5 million, a pandemic record.

After last weekend's haul, Shang-Chi surpassed its fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe instalment Black Widow (US$183 million) as the highest-grossing movie of the year. Unlike Shang-Chi, the Scarlett

Johansson-led Black Widow was not available exclusively in cinemas.

The film premiered simultaneously on Disney+ (for a premium US$30 fee), where it has generated at least US$125 million.

Johansson sued Disney weeks ago, alleging that the movie's hybrid release depressed box office ticket sales and cut into her compensation. REUTERS