Summary
AsThe Marvelsstruggles at the box office, its second week in theaters brings even more bad news for the high-budget superhero project that might seal its fate.
From the onset,Captain Marvel 2had a looming shadow of adversity to the film’s success evident, as its trailer set a new dislike record for the MCU and early speculation predicted an unimpressive box office start. The leadup to the film’s November 10 release was equally bleak, with the prognosis getting even worse whenThe Marvelsbox office projections plummetedright before it premiered.
Unfortunately,The Marvelsdebuted to a new MCU-low box office drawover its opening weekend, and its current performance offers no encouragement. According to a report fromThe Hollywood Reporter,The Marvelsset another undesirable record for the MCU, as its second-weekend drop ranks as not just the worst in the franchise but the worst second-weekend drop for any big-budget superhero movie in the industry’s modern history, including the 74% dropMorbiussuffered in its sophomore weekend. The decline, which sawThe Marvelsfall 78% to beatAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s 69% drop, doesn’t bode well for its overall theatrical run despite a return to full promotional force just the film’s release.
In its second weekend,The Marvelsbrought in around $10.2 million domestically and $19.5 million from international markets to bring its total box office earnings to an unimpressive $161.3 million globally as its theatrical run continues. While its reported budget sits at a pricey $275 million and makes this figure worrying,The Marvelsneeds far more to break evenand start making a profit for Marvel Studios, which had a bad start to the year withQuantumania.Compared toCaptain Marvel,which was produced on a considerable fraction ofThe Marvelbudget and started its $1.131 billion theatrical run with a $456.7 million international opening, the sequel has disappointed.
While unfortunate, it is unsurprising considering the negative projections and conditions working against the film’s success. While the SAG-AFTRA strike ended beforeThe Marvelspremiered and the film’s stars went into promotion overdrive, it was too little too late. The BTS reports that alleged extensive issues, reshoots, and director Nia DaCosta’s absence didn’t help the film’s chances either, as it fed into the section of discourse already dismissive of the film. This intensified after the film fell short on opening weekend, and even admitted MCU abstainerStephen King reprimanded reactions toThe Marvelsbombing, which seemed to be celebrating the early failure of the project’s theatrical run.
While the failure of the most recent Marvel outing is bad news, the blame doesn’t necessarily rest on the cast and certainly doesn’t extend to the crew. Some people believethe MCU was settingThe Marvelsup to failby its lack of action to address the fatigue and dissatisfaction that has become a hallmark of the once-unbeatable franchise’s more recent releases. Fans can only hope this final grim outing will be the expensive wake-up call needed to catalyze real change at Marvel Studios.
The Marvelsis now playing in theaters.
The Marvels
Carol Danvers teams up with Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan in The Marvels. As the three heroes find their powers entangled, they must work together to stop Dar-Benn from enacting her evil plan.
