nothing excellent The film revolves around the opening weekend of Disney’s superhero adventure “The Marvels,” which grossed $63 million worldwide and $110 million worldwide.
These numbers are well below expectations (heading into the weekend, Disney was hoping for $140 million or more, and even that wasn’t great for a tentpole with a $220 million budget) and ranks as one of the worst worldwide premieres in History of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“The Marvels” is the 33rd MCU film and the sequel to 2019’s billion-dollar blockbuster “Captain Marvel,” which debuted to a whopping $302 million worldwide and $455 million worldwide. The film, which introduced Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, was coincidentally sandwiched between two of the biggest films of all time, 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
But there are other reasons behind the sharp decline in ticket sales. “Captain Marvel” came at a time when the MCU — an unparalleled franchise that has grossed $30 billion globally over 15 years — could do no wrong at the box office. Since then, Disney has inundated viewers with countless spin-offs and TV series on both big and small screens. “Wonderland” makes it clear that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are, after all, human.
“The idea of connected universes and characters jumping between the big and small screen has created some disinterest among audiences,” says Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore senior analyst.
Although none of the overseas territories were notable, China had the biggest start outside the US with $11.7 million, followed by the United Kingdom with $4.3 million, Indonesia with $3.7 million, Korea with $3.5 million, and France with $3.1 million. “The Marvels” also failed to catch on in Imax, where the premium format contributed just $5.6 million internationally and $10 million worldwide.
Nia DaCosta (Candyman) directed The Marvels, which once again highlighted Larson as Captain Marvel, and elevated the character of Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel. Like the 32 films before it, the trio of heroes are tasked with saving the universe from forces seeking to destroy it. The Marvels movie was not well received by critics (it has a score of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes), although reviewers praised the enjoyable runtime (it is the shortest MCU film to date) and Vellani’s turn as Ms. Marvel.
As for future films, Disney CEO Bob Iger recently promised a return to quality rather than quantity. The studio has time to reevaluate as “Deadpool 3” is the only MCU film on the 2024 calendar.
“After decades of unwavering fan loyalty, the superhero genre appears to have reached a crossroads, and it is necessary to reevaluate what will drive audiences to multiplexes,” adds Paul Dergarabedian. “marvel [is a] A huge brand that remains attractive to audiences around the world, but new strategies may have to be put in place to ensure future success.
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