THE NEW MUTANTS Has Become A Surprise, Sleeper Hit On Video-On-Demand Platforms

After a disappointing run at the box office, there's finally some good news for The New Mutants because the Marvel movie has gone straight to the top of VOD charts. Find out more details after the jump...

By JoshWilding - Nov 26, 2020 01:11 AM EST

Filed Under: New Mutants

Source: CBR

The New Mutants beat Tenet to the punch as the first major blockbuster to arrive in theaters when they began to re-open, and it performed about as well as everyone expected (which is to say, it flopped). However, we finally have some good news for 20th Century's final X-Men movie!

The Marvel Comics adaptation has gone straight to the top of Vudu and FandangoNow charts for the week ending November 22nd - not a bad result considering it debuted on the 17th.

Whether this will actually help The New Mutants turn of a profit remains to be seen, but with results like this, it could be a while before we get to see the movie hit Disney+. Talking of the streaming service, it looks like Mulan is also doing pretty well now it's been released on VOD platforms like these.

Here are the top 10 titles for the week (in terms of revenue) on Vudu:

1. The New Mutants
2. Unhinged
3. Come Play
4. Mulan
5. The Informer
6. Iron Mask
7. Love and Monsters
8. Jiu Jitsu
9. Chick Fight
10. Elf

And here's the top 10 (once again in terms of revenue) on FandangoNow:

1. The New Mutants
2. Unhinged
3. Come Play
4. The Informer
5. Mulan
6. Iron Mask
7. Chick Fight
8. Love and Monsters
9. Jiu Jitsu
10. Dreamland

Did you watch The New Mutants in theaters or did you wait for it to arrive on VOD services like these?

Click on the "Next" button below to take a look
at what did and didn't work in The New Mutants!

Did Work: Everything About Magik

Anya Taylor-Joy is a fantastic young actress, and she does some great work in The New Mutants as Illyana Rasputin. With a chip on her shoulder, the mutant vents her frustration on those around her, but as the movie progresses, it becomes clear that there's a reason for why she is the way she is.

The actress effortlessly pulls all of this off, and takes us along for the ride in a way that ensures you'll get fully invested with a character who, for all intents and purposes, should be unlikeable.

In terms of how her powers are portrayed, most of what's in the movie has been seen in the trailers, but the few glimpses we get of Limbo are undeniably impressive, and Magik is a total badass.

Didn't Work: ...Well, Aside From Lockheed, Maybe

There's a cool idea in The New Mutants with Lockheed being a toy puppet Magik has used to get her through a series of traumas in her life (we'll get to those). During the final battle, we learn that when she goes to Limbo, it comes to life. The creature looks fantastic in live-action, and it's a lot of fun watching him blasting Demon Bear with blue, fiery blasts.

Unfortunately, Lockheed vanishes soon after and we barely get to spend any time with him!

It feels a little like Fox decided that animating Lockheed for more than a few seconds would be too expensive, hence why he's back to being a puppet by the time all is said and done. Clearly, Lockheed was only going to "come to life" every now and again and, honestly, that's kind of a let-down.

Did Work: The Dynamic Between Characters

If there's one thing The New Mutants definitely gets right, it's the dynamic between characters. The relationship between Dani Moonstar and Rahne Sinclair is a great example of that as their budding romance never feels forced and feels like a natural progression of the friendship they quickly establish.

Sam Guthrie and Roberto da Costa also strike up a friendship despite being from very different backgrounds, while the way Illyana bounces off each of them is never not fun to watch.

Dr. Cecilia Reyes isn't the most effective of villains, and her ties to these mutants is never really explored beyond a surface level. The Smiley Men also don't do much more than serve as canon fodder for the heroes, so it's just a good job this movie's heroes are compelling (because the villains are not).

Didn't Work: Not Enough Superpowers

When the first trailer for The New Mutants was released, it was clear the movie was being billed as a horror story, and superpowers were pretty much nowhere to be found.

That didn't sit well with a lot of fans, and while the next trailer made up for that, the mutant powers these characters have aren't exactly on full display in the finished product. When we do see them, they look great, but as none of them have control over their abilities, they're not utilised in a particularly effective manner (even during the final battle).

The biggest loser here is Wolfsbane; her transformation is underwhelming, and while she looks pretty cool slashing away at Dr. Cecilia Reyes and Demon Bear, that could have been so much better!

Didn't Work: Where's The Horror?

Despite being billed as the first superhero/horror movie hybrid, it most definitely is not. At all.

The New Mutants definitely get a little tense in places, and is clearly meant to be scary, but the stakes just aren't there to really drive home that we should be frightened for these characters. It never truly feels like they're in danger, and the threats they face...well, they're just not that frightening!

Ultimately, reshoots might have been able to help with this, but it's possible the genres just don't work well together, especially when the five leads are incredibly powerful and take down these threats with relative ease. The movie needed to up the ante, but kept it a little too PG-13 and tame for horror fans.

Did Work: Nods To The Wider X-Men Universe

The New Mutants was originally set to tie directly into the events of X-Men: Apocalypse, but that idea was scrapped early on. However, there are still some nods to the wider "X-Men Universe."

These young mutants are convinced that they will eventually move on to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and so are we...until Dr. Cecilia Reyes gets a message telling her to kill Dani. That's clearly not something Professor X would say, and it's then we learn she's really working for the Essex Corporation and that they want to use these mutants as trained killers.

Clearly, the plan was to keep dropping these hints until Mister Sinister finally made his presence felt in this world, though it doesn't sound like this team was ever on a collision could with him.

Didn't Work: Demon Bear

Demon Bear is nowhere near as terrifying as you might think (certainly not if you've read the comic books) and ends up being little more than a figment of Dani's imagination after she inadvertently releases the greatest fears of her fellow mutants without realising she's actually doing so.

Honestly, Demon Bear is just a big, kinda scary bear with glowing eyes. Beyond that, the mythology from the source material is largely ignored, and the villain massively disappoints because of that.

On the plus side, Magik fighting Demon Bear does look pretty cool on screen. The special effects are by no means bad, it's just the storytelling behind the creature which ends up being a let down.

Didn't Work: The Ending

After Dani manages to soothe Demon Bear, the heroes find their way out of the former asylum and decide to head off together to see where the nearest town is...and well, that's pretty much it.

While it does kind of feel like they're a team now, this vague ending feels like it's missing something, and nowhere near enough time is dedicated to exploring what the experience they've been through means for them moving forward. A sequel likely would have explored that, but this ending really doesn't give fans enough reason to want to come back and see what happens next.

Perhaps an after-credits scenes might have helped, but it's a strange, underwhelming conclusion.

Did Work: Magik's Traumatic Childhood

This is never overtly explained in the movie, but as a child, Magik was sexually abused by a series of men who she ultimately murdered. To escape her reality, she imagined them with smiling faces, and used her mutant powers to escape into limbo so she could forget what she went through.

It's a hard-hitting, shocking moment that could have made an even greater impact had The New Mutants dedicated a little more time to exploring what Illyana once went through.

As it stands, this is still a strong part of the movie that, while it doesn't make for easy viewing, will resonate with you and help inform what we see from Magik throughout this story.

Didn't Work: It Feels Like Some Scenes Are Missing

Fox reportedly wanted to reshoot the entire movie, and while that was unnecessary, The New Mutants still needed some additional photography. Had a test audience been able to take a look at it, you have to believe that certain scenes would have been expanded on, plot points might have been better explained, and the characters getting fleshed out would be inevitable.

Unfortunately, that didn't end up happening, and so it feels like there are scenes which are missing...and they probably are because Josh Boone never got to go back and film any of them!

It gives the movie something of a strange feel, and while the director has hinted at there being deleted scenes, we'd love to know what led to them not being included in this 90-minute movie.

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34 Comments

tmp3 - 11/26/2020, 1:36 AM

Maybe people really loved Taylor Joy in Queen’s Gambit and wanted to see her in another project?

Kumkani - 11/26/2020, 2:09 AM

@tmp3 - I might actually watch it just for her. She was damn good in The Queen's Gambit.

tmp3 - 11/26/2020, 2:25 AM

@Kumkani - Yeah, I’ve loved her in everything since the VVitch. Hyped to see her as Furiosa

Superheromoviefan - 11/26/2020, 1:51 AM

i actually liked the movie. i dont know why people hate it

thewanderer - 11/26/2020, 8:24 AM

@Superheromoviefan - agreed. It wasn’t great, but it didn’t suck either. I’m surprised they delayed it so long. Well worth the $9 or so I paid for it.

bkmeijer2 - 11/26/2020, 1:59 AM

When I look at the rest of the list, I find it not surprising at all. Thought Love & Monsters would've been higher though.

Even Jiu Jitsu is doing okay I guess, but the real surpise here is Elf. It's not even december yet and people are watching Christmas movies already?

Twenty23Three - 11/26/2020, 2:20 AM

I wonder, and this is totally out of no where I’m pulling this, if people who don’t keep tabs on these things saw the title and thought it was Marvel studios introduction of mutants. At least someone probably did right?

SnideCut - 11/26/2020, 3:16 AM

Man, out of all of these I feel like Love and Monsters deserved a theatrical release. That movie was kickass and heartwarming.

PerrinNation1 - 11/26/2020, 3:23 AM

Didn’t Work:

THE ENTIRE MOVIE

bl0odwerk - 11/26/2020, 4:22 AM

The New Mutants is dope. Josh Boone did a great job with it.

WEAPONXOXOXO - 11/26/2020, 4:31 AM

i grew up reading the new mutants and i was reading the x-men since 1983.
the movie was entertaining. it was short and it left me wanting more. the movie was a let down but i don't think it bad just not good enough. there was some good character development and Anya Taylor-Joy is gonna be a huge star.
this actress has so much talent. i recommend watching The Queen's Gambit on netflix.

Chewtoy - 11/26/2020, 5:39 AM

Looking at the titles that make up the rest of those lists, it doesn’t seem to be that much of an accomplishment.

OmegaDaGrodd - 11/26/2020, 5:57 AM

SerKurtWagner - 11/26/2020, 7:08 AM

It's really not as bad as some people have made it out to be. It's just a low-effort CBM in the style of the early 2000's. Not good, not bad, just "there." We've gone a whole year without a superhero movie, so it really shouldn't be surprising that people are watching the first chance they get.

NinnesMBC - 11/26/2020, 7:09 AM

I still have to see it, but at least something good came out so it's nice for the cast.

FlammableSolid - 11/26/2020, 8:39 AM

I enjoyed the movie. Watched it not expecting much but loved Magik and would love to see more of that character get some more screen time.

Pigdango - 11/26/2020, 11:04 AM

Glad to see it could beat a 17 year old movie.

This is meaningless news without a dollar figure attached to it. I’m sure there was a week when Fant4stic was #1 in VOD as well.

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