There’s nothing heroic about “The Marvels’” final theatrical appearance. The superhero sequel is officially the lowest-grossing installment in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After four weeks on the big screen, the comic tentpole is running out of steam with $80 million in North America and $197 million worldwide. There’s usually optimism that attendance could rebound during the busy holiday season, but Disney apparently doesn’t expect that to be the case. The studio wrote in a press release on Sunday: “With ‘The Marvels’ box office now closed, we will stop reporting international/global box office for this title this weekend.”
The film isn’t in theaters yet, and the $220 million-plus tentpole is expected to run until the New Year. However, this memo suggests that no significant coinage is expected for the remainder of December. Over the weekend, “The Marvels” plunged to No. 11 on the box office charts with just $2.4 million in its fourth release.
“The Marvels” opened Nov. 10 with $46 million domestically, landing the worst debut in the MCU, the franchise’s rare failure from the start. Things only got darker. Ticket sales plunged 78% in its second year, cementing another ignominious record: the series’ biggest second-weekend decline. Now that the film’s theatrical run is coming to an end, its box office revenue will be no higher than 2008’s The Incredible Hulk ($264 million, not adjusted for inflation), which was previously the film with the lowest box office figures.
This level of disappointment is unusual given that Marvel is the most commercially successful film franchise of all time, with $29.8 billion across 33 films worldwide. Additionally, the passionate MCU fan base has opted for less accepted entries. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Qunatumania” managed to gross $214 million domestically and $476 million worldwide in February of this year, despite the film receiving worse reviews than “The Marvels.”
Directed by Nia DaCosta, the action-adventure focuses on a trio of spandexed heroes – Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel – whose mission it is to protect the universe from forces to save those who want to destroy it. Reviews were mixed, but a bigger issue is that “The Marvels” ended up bearing the brunt of audience burnout towards this ever-expanding franchise that can be seen on both the big and small screen. This year alone, Marvel has released two more films and three Disney+ TV series.
“The Marvels” is also the first Marvel film to not exceed $100 million at the domestic box office. That means the sequel’s total theatrical run didn’t come close to the opening weekend of its 2019 predecessor, “Captain Marvel” ($153 million). However, the original adventure starring Larson’s Carol Danvers had added oomph since its prime release date fell between two of the biggest films of all time, 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger has addressed the film’s poor box office performance, noting that pandemic-related production restrictions ultimately hurt the bottom line. “’The Marvels’ was filmed during COVID,” Iger said recently. “There wasn’t as much oversight on set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] I really look at what’s being done day by day.”
He added that the studio’s previous run of billion-dollar behemoths had crushed expectations about the potential of its films. “We got to the point where we were disappointed if a movie didn’t make a billion dollars at the global box office,” Iger said. “That’s an incredibly high standard and I think we need to be more realistic.”
Box office analysts don’t believe superhero fatigue has hit the masses once and for all. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. “Deadpool 3” ($845 million) was a hit over the summer, and “Deadpool 3,” starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, is expected to be a smash in 2024. But “The Marvels” is the clearest indication that comic book fans will say no to reliably appearing in theaters just because the Marvel logo appears before a film.
Disney still has several MCU films on the horizon, but may need to reshape the future of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The studio recently pushed back “Captain America: A Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts” and “Blade” to 2025 due to strike-related production delays. This leaves “Deadpool 3” as the only Marvel film on next year’s calendar. Hopefully the Merc with a Mouth can save the day – and the MCU.