Brian Cox Says Cinema Is 'in a Very Bad Way,' CallsDeadpool & Wolverine'Party Time' for Its Stars

Mar. 15, 2025

Brian Cox; Deadpool & Wolverine.Photo:Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; 2024 20th Century Studios/2024 MARVEL

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; 2024 20th Century Studios/2024 MARVEL

Brian Coxthinks the movie industry is hurting, partially thanks to blockbuster superhero franchises dominating the field.

TheSuccessionactor, 78, said at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in Scotland on Saturday, Aug. 17, according toThe Hollywood ReporterandVariety, that cinema is “in a very bad way.”

“What’s happened is that television is doing what cinema used to do. I think cinema is in a very bad way,” he said, per the outlets. “I think it’s lost its place because of, partly, the grandiose element between Marvel, DC and all of that. And I think it’s beginning to implode, actually. You’re kind of losing the plot.”

Cox argued that while movies likeDeadpool & Wolverineearn “a lot of money” at the box office and “make everybody happy,” the work “becomes diluted afterwards. You’re getting the same old— I mean, I’ve done those kind of [projects].”

The Emmy-winning actor starred as William Stryker in 2003’sX2: X-Men United, and he’s also appeared in films like 2011’sRise of the Planet of the Apes, 2010’sREDand theJasonBournefranchise.

Brian Cox.Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images

Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images

Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, is a continuation of Cox’sX2.The movie has alreadybecome the highest-grossing R-rated film of all timewith over $1 billion earned.

Cox added at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, “It’s just become a party time for certain actors to do this stuff. When you know that Hugh Jackman can do a bit more, Ryan Reynolds… but it’s because they go down that road and it’s box office. They make a lot of money. You can’t knock it.”

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in “Deadpool & Wolverine”.Jay Maidmen

Jay Maidmen

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“It’s thrilling. It’s really affirming,” he said of the success. “And, look, every time someone has asked me, ‘What about superhero fatigue?’ I’ve held to this conviction that people just want to be surprised. They want something unexpected and new, and I feel like we certainly devoted ourselves to delivering that.”

Levy added, “So the way it’s been embraced, and especially that audience score, this is what I work for. I work for audience satisfaction.”

source: people.com