Disney CEO Bob Iger believes he knows one of the reasons the latest MCU film, The Marvels, was disappointing at the box office: not enough executives on set.
At the NYT Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, Iger gave an in-depth interview where he talked about his return as CEO, the difficult time Disney has found itself in, and more. Regarding the box office decline of the once-reliable Marvel Studios, Iger reiterated his emphasis on quality over quantity, something he’s spoken about numerous times before.
“Quality needs attention… This doesn’t happen by chance. Quantity is diluted quality in our case,” he said, according to NBC News.
With “The Marvels” in particular, Iger said that part of the reason it falls short is because it was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore “there wasn’t as much supervision on set, so to speak, where.” we have managers.” [that are] I really look at what is being done day by day.
“I would say my top priority right now is to help the studio turn around creatively,” he added.
“The Marvels” opened earlier this month to a disappointing $47 million, marking the lowest opening ever for an MCU film. There are a number of reasons for this (and the reality is probably a mix of all of them): the general struggle that superhero films have had in 2023, the onslaught of Marvel/Disney content to keep up with, the lack of a press tour amid the then-ongoing actors’ strike and much more. Lack of corporate interference wasn’t necessarily analysts’ main explanation.
“I would say my top priority right now is to help the studio turn around creatively.”
Still, as previously mentioned, Iger has repeatedly stressed that Marvel and Disney in general will slow content churn, which increased exponentially with the launch of Disney+ in 2020 (which put a heavy strain on VFX staff). It is a “clear mistake” to increase production so much.
However, he still defended the sequels at Disney, saying he didn’t want to “apologize” for it.
“Some of them did exceptionally well, and they were good films too,” he said. “I think there has to be a reason to do it, you have to have a good story.” And often the story doesn’t hold up because it’s not as strong as the original story. That can be a problem.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Iger briefly discussed his exit from Disney, handing over the reins to Bob Chapek in 2020 before returning just over a year ago.
“I was disappointed by what I saw during the transition and while I was away,” he said, according to The New York Times. “I worked hard to distance myself from it.”
He added that he would “definitely” step down as CEO once his contract expires in 2026. He said he had “solved many of the problems that the company had and overcome many of the challenges,” reinforcing previous views that Disney was in a “period of repair” after a year of layoffs and box office disappointments.
Alex Stedman is a senior news editor at IGN and leads entertainment coverage. When she’s not writing or editing, she reads fantasy novels or plays Dungeons & Dragons.