Not every superhero movie is an immediate success. Some take years to find their audience; just ask any fan of Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies. Nowadays, anything made outside of the Marvel and DC empires is seen as a big risk, which makes it even harder for a potential cult classic to gain traction.
There’s no better example than a 2023 movie that had a great showing on the film festival circuit, but never got a wide release. Now, two years later, it’s finally getting the big-screen attention it deserves, after fans and even the movie’s star came to its defense.
The Toxic Avenger doesn’t shy away from guts and gore.
Cineverse
In 2023, Macon Blair’s remake of the 1984 Troma movie The Toxic Avenger opened Fantastic Fest to rave reviews. It seemed to have everything going for it: an all-star cast, including Peter Dinklage, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon, a nostalgic hook, and an raunchy, gory vibe that butted up against increasingly sanitized blockbusters. The movie scored 92% on Rotten Tomatoes — quite a feat for such theoretically polarizing content — but no sign of a wide release ever emerged.
Dinklage commented on the delay in 2024, telling Comicbook.com, “I do want it to get out there into the world because it was a really big hit at Fantastic Fest in Austin, and Macon Blair… He’s incredible. He’s one of my favorite people and favorite artists. So hopefully it will have its day in the toxic sun.”
Now, it looks like that day is finally coming, as Variety reports Cineverse has struck a deal with original distributor Legendary Pictures to bring The Toxic Avenger to theaters in 2025.
Elijah Wood goes a bit Devito-Penguin-esque in The Toxic Avenger.
Cineverse
Cineverse has gained the reputation for championing small, weird movies; it also distributed the horror breakout Terrifier 3. Hopefully, The Toxic Avenger will enjoy similar success, and become the cult classic it’s destined to be.
After years of DC and Marvel releasing movies meant to please as many people as possible, The Toxic Avenger is the shot (of toxic waste) in the arm the genre needs, a no-holds barred take on the genre that won’t please everyone, but should be a rollicking great time for those who can meet it on its level. Deadpool and Wolverine proved that the demand for irreverent superheroes is very much alive, and now The Toxic Avenger is coming to clean up.
The Toxic Avenger is coming to theaters in 2025.
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