For China, Dark Phoenix is about as bad as Game of Thrones Season 8

China has many dedicated X-Men fans. On social media, they meticulously break down the series’ confusing timeline and write stories about how the X-Men stories would unfold if they took place in China.

Some fans even crossed their arms in the shape of an “X” and cheered “mutant and proud” at the China premiere of Dark Phoenix, the final installment of the 19-year-old 20th Century Fox franchise adapted from the popular Marvel Comics series.

But the X-Men finale hasn’t excited fans as much as Avengers: Endgame, which tied up the first decade of storytelling in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Based on online comments and reviews of Dark Phoenix, released in China on June 6, this finale might be better compared to a different series finale: Game of Thrones.

“Pay attention if you want to see Dark Phoenix. The movie’s at about the same level as the new Fantastic Four,” said one Weibo user, referring to the 2015 Marvel film, also produced by 20th Century Fox, that bombed at the box office and has a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “Even Game of Thrones Season 8 is better than this.”