Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest installment – The Marvels did not meet people’s expectations, and I’m one with them. What happened? In this blog post, we will discuss why this movie failed to hit the box office and what is my opinion on what they should have done and should do moving forward.
The Marvels premiered on 07 November 2023 in Las Vegas and was globally released on the 10th of the same month. Disney expected to hit the box office in the first three weeks, however, we would not be having this discussion if the movie did well.
In the United States and Canada, The Marvels grossed about $84 million, 773.81% lower than Avengers: Endgame – the highest-grossing film of the MCU; and approximately 507.14% lower than its prequel in 2019 – Captain Marvel. Following the end of its showing in theaters globally, The Marvels only grossed $197 million internationally, making it the lowest-grossing MCU film of all time.
What went wrong?
A lot of factors can be considered that contributed to The Marvels flopping.
Lack of supervision
Disney’s CEO, Robert “Bob” Iger recently went on an interview with The New York Times and said that one of the reasons why this movie failed was because of the lack of supervision. The installment was shot amid the pandemic and the restrictions affected the quality of supervision on the set when there should be a lot of executives that would normally oversee what’s being done during shooting and post-production days.
Disney+ subscription
Bob went on to say that another factor that led to the installment failing was because of the Disney+ subscription. He mentioned that Disney+ only offers a $7 monthly subscription compared to the amount of money spent on going to the theaters and watching the movie with family members. This would mean that it would take a lot to convince people to go out of their homes and watch movies in cinemas.
Too many sequels
The studio chief admitted that there are too many MCU franchise films which could be one of the reasons why more and more people are getting sick of Marvel movies. He, however, said that he will never apologize for making sequels and that Disney will not stop making them. Instead, moving forward, he will be more mindful of the process and decision-making when making MCU installations such as the quality of storytelling, and will not approve of a film until it surpasses the standard of what Marvel Cinematic Universe should be.
People’s unrealistic expectations
Robert also expressed his concern regarding people’s expectations of the MCU. He mentioned that because of the successes of preceding installations – with Avengers: Endgame grossing the highest of $2.7 billion – even reaching a few hundred million in income is looked down upon, thus labeling The Marvels a flop.
My thoughts
I do agree with Robert on his thoughts about flooding MCU installations, and further concur about the quality of storytelling. I have watched all Marvel movies and series, and I must say, the films and series after Endgame have significantly decreased in terms of quality in both plots and CGI (except Loki). Moreover, it is noticeable that more and more female heroes are replacing male ones. It doesn’t mean I’m anti-feminism, it’s just that there should be a balance between the two genders’ representation in the MCU.
Regarding people’s expectations of MCU installations, I believe that people, especially hardcore fans of Marvel, will always be willing to spend money if the film is great. Therefore, I do think Disney is at fault here as to why The Marvels was not a success.
After watching The Marvels in the cinema, it did feel like I wasted my money. The plot was weak. Even the villain. I did enjoy Iman Vellani’s character, to be fair. She was a breath of fresh air, and her comic stunts and lines balanced out Brie Larson’s serious and stoic demeanor. As for Teyonah Parris, she had character development, which is good, however, saddened by Captain Marvel’s lack thereof.
Conclusion
Disney announced that there will be more MCU installations in the upcoming years such as Deadpool 3 which is set to be released this year (2024), and promised that they will do their best to meet the expectations of fans.
I believe that the MCU can bounce back from this and that The Marvels’ failure will help them improve more and give us more in the future. After all, true MCU fans will never want Marvel to fail.
So, as long as Disney continues to improve and give us great installations, hardcore fans will always be here waiting, and who knows? We might convince others to watch too!