A fierce Cocaine Bear debate is raging about whether the comedy-horror movie is good or not
The bear necessities
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A fierce debate is raging online about whetherCocaine Bearshould be considered a good movie or not.
We’re only two months into 2023 but, after the unprecedented success ofM3GAN– thanks in part to the horror movie going viral online pre-release – anothernew horror movieinCocaine Bearis cooking up a storm on social media.
What, you’ve never heard ofCocaine Bear? Allow us to paint you a picture. Loosely inspired by a true story centered around the infamous, well, ‘Cocaine Bear’, the Universal Pictures comedy-horror flick tells the 1985 tale of a grizzly bear that ingests a duffel bag of the psychostimulant drug.
the people have spoken and i be cokin’. pic.twitter.com/2Mc8MJfAl3February 23, 2023
In the film adaptation, the 500-pound bear – which, in the real world, is affectionately known as Pablo Eskobear (you know, after legendary drug kingpin Pablo Escobar) – goes on a drug-fuelled, bloodlust-style rampage across north Georgia, killing anyone in its path.
Following the release of its official trailer in December 2022,Cocaine Bearquickly gained traction online, with social media users drumming up support for the B-movie ahead of its theatrical release. However, with the film now out in theaters worldwide,Cocaine Bearhas become the talk of the social media town, with millions of people debating whether it’s a good movie or not.
First up is the “it’s good!” camp. At the time of writing,Cocaine Bearhas an 83% certified fresh rating on review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes. Even more surreal is its rating among professional critics –Cocaine Bearearned a not-too-shabby 72% from 123 reviews. At one point,Cocaine Beareven had the seemingly unattainable 100% review rating on the same website, which is (or was) an utterly mind-blowing feat.
Cocaine Bear, you saved Hollywood’s ass pic.twitter.com/3Sd65ygVP0February 23, 2023
In the hours since its public release,Cocaine Bearis proving to be a certifiable hit. Twitter users, such asEdwin De Paz, have uploaded images of long queues of people waiting to see the movie in theaters. Some, includingGeorge ClarkandBeck&Woods, have taken to social media to hail the film as one of the best flicks of 2023 so far, while others like ReedReads4 jokingly praisedM3GANandCocaine Bear– both of which are owned by Universal – for saving the theater-going experience. Sorry, Tom Cruise andTop Gun: Maverick– Steven Spielberg was wrong to say you saved cinema.
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These two are saving cinema. #M3GAN #CocaineBear pic.twitter.com/GSsZtOSh5PFebruary 24, 2023
It’s not all been good news, though. There are plenty of people who just don’tgetthe appeal ofCocaine Bear, with Twitter usersvibewitkeezyandinternetmosoasking how such a dumb-looking film could be made in the 21st century. Elsewhere,Alan Zilbermansaid it was “bad and not in a fun way”, while Patrick Vicious wanted Cocaine Bear to be a ‘so bad it’s good’ kind of movie. Unfortunately for Patrick, he didn’t think it was.
#CocaineBear wasn’t bad BUT I WANTED IT TO BE BAD! I WANTED PURE INSANE RIDICULOUSNESS! WHY WAS I DENIED THIS?February 24, 2023
It’s unclear how much moneyCocaine Bearwill actually make. PerVariety, the Elizabeth Banks-directed movie made $2 million on opening night. With a reported budget of $20 million, it’ll need to sell a lot more tickets to recoup its production and marketing costs.
Still, it doesn’t seem like its box office performance will preventCocaine Bearfrom getting a sequel. According to those who have seen the film, aMarvel-style ‘Cocaine Bearwill return’ tagline is shown after the credits have rolled. This could be a way of mocking superhero films and how they’re dominating the Hollywood landscape, but we’d like to think that Pablo Esokbear will be back for more gory misadventures in the future.
Even if it doesn’t get a follow-up,Cocaine BearandM3GANprove there’s still an audience for experimental, non-superhero films in today’s market. When supposedly heavy hitters likeAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniahave earned less-than-stellar reviews – read ourAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniareviewfor more – it’s heartwarming to see movies likeCocaine Beardominate the moviegoing conversation.
Who knows what the next viral film hit will be? For now, though, Cocaine Bear rules the stage – and it’s prepared to take a hefty bite out of the competition while it’s in theaters (expect it to come toPeacock, Universal’s streaming service, sometime soon, too).
For more horror genre-based coverage, read ourbest horror moviesarticle. Alternatively, see what thebest horror movies are on Shudder, the world’s leading horror, thriller, and supernatural-centric streaming platform.
As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.
An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as thisMoon Knight TV spot.
Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across.
Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.
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