Cocaine Bear charged into theaters this weekend, and as expected it found an eager audience. The movie has already claimed victory at the box office and it has sparked some interesting conversations on social media. Read on for a look at what fans and critics are saying about this outlandish story.
Cocaine Bear is a comedy horror film loosely based on the real-life story of the death of drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II in December of 1985. Fearing arrest, Thornton threw a duffel bag full of cocaine out of an airplane over the Georgia wilderness where it was discovered by a black bear. The bear was found dead next to the stash of drugs, apparently having consumed much of the cocaine and suffering an overdose. This served as the jumping-off point for a spec script written by Jimmy Warden, which was in turn picked up by Universal Pictures.
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The movie takes a lot of creative liberties and resembles Thornton’s story very little. The first people attached to the project were producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, followed by director and producer Elizabeth Banks when the film was formally announced in March of 2021. That summer, the all-star cast was announced and filming took place that fall.
Cocaine Bear has caused a stir among movie fans with “franchise fatigue,” and many critics argue that it is a sign that movies don’t need to take themselves so seriously. On the other hand, some are put off by the premise and shocked by the widespread reception it is getting. For better or worse, it looks like Cocaine Bear has become a cultural flashpoint in the entertainment business. Here’s a look at what fans are saying about it so far.
Box Office Scoreboard
Many fans treated box office earnings like a scoreboard this weekend, watching for Cocaine Bear to defeat Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in ticket sales. They thought this would be a clear-cut sign of where general audiences stand on “franchise fatigue.”
Franchise Potential
On the other hand, some fans joked that this success would simply spawn a new franchise that would go on for years to come. Many tried to format the title to be similar to the Fast & Furious naming conventions.
Social Commentary
Some fans joked that Cocaine Bear was sneaking in some social commentary or allegorical elements in its plot. Many joked that the bear was female and that the movie was therefore a feminist masterpiece.
Bear Representation
Along the same lines, some fans joked that it was not fair to portray all bears as rampaging monsters. They shared more wholesome bear footage online to counteract this phenomenon.
Horror Trend
While this may not be the most typical horror movie, it is well within the genre, and fans remarked that it is Universal’s third horror movie to overperform so far in 2023. They hoped industry executives would not this trend and invest in new projects accordingly.
Still Fun
Some fans speculated that all the fun and surprises Cocaine Bear had to offer were in the trailer, and that the movie itself would not be as fun. A lot of theater-goers found creative ways to refute that worry.
Ray Liotta
Finally, some fans had mixed feelings about the fact that Cocaine Bear was the last film Ray Liotta will ever appear in. The movie is playing now in theaters around the U.S.
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