>>149843352
It might really just be bad timing. Releasing at the tail end of the summer after all the other blockbuster movies came out was likely a bad idea in hindsight, as people have already had their fill of 3-4 big summer movies and going to the theatre isn't cheap. It really sucks because you can tell they really poured a lot of love into this movie and wanted it to become their big 2020s franchise following their other legacy series such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, HTTYD but unfortunately the interest isn't there. If I had to guess the biggest reason why however, it has to do with exactly what you said regarding the characters being "props" and not really having much story to them. The Bad Guys universe, and Wolf himself, the main character, doesn't have the same appealing depth the other series' protagonists do. It doesn't help his name is just fucking WOLF too lol.
I hope it doesn't discourage DreamWorks from attempting a third film, even if it's the last. I also hope they can try and make something more character driven and Wolf and Diane focused, even if it means giving the others less screentime.
