New Marvel movie ‘The Marvels’ hits all time Marvel low

Nothing marvelous on the Marvel front with The Marvels as recently showings have confirmed.

It may star Brie Larson and Samuel L Jackson, may fly the Marvel banner and even bear the Marvel name in its title, but that hasn’t given new Hollywood blockbuster release, ‘The Marvels’ any relief at the box office.

In contrast to its 2019 prequel, the 2023 film has seen less audiences in theatres, which adds more misery to Disney’s marvel franchise as the studio continues to lose audiences.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) sees “The Marvels”debuting at a lackluster $47 million in its opening weekend, marking the worst opening in MCU history.

Initial projections of $75 million to $80 million diminished in recent weeks to a disappointing $60 million to $65 million.

The film’s performance was further hampered by negative buzz, and key figures like Brie Larson were unable to promote the movie due to the SAG strike, which concluded on Friday.

“The Marvels” failed to meet even the reduced estimates, falling short of the expectations set for an MCU installment. Only two other films in the expansive MCU, “The Incredible Hulk” in 2008 with $55.4 million and “Ant-Man” in 2015 with $57.2 million (not adjusted for inflation), opened to lower figures than $60 million.

While the MCU has demonstrated occasional signs of vulnerability, with “The Marvels” labeled as a rare box office flop, other 2022 releases like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” achieved successful triple-digit debuts.

Internationally, “The Marvels” also fell short, collecting $63.3 million from 51 territories for a global start of $110 million, below Disney’s anticipated $140 million.

With production costs of around $220 million and an additional $100 million allocated for global promotion, the film faces an uphill battle to recoup its investment.

David A. Gross, from the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, remarked on the unprecedented nature of “The Marvels” box office performance, noting that while the SAG strikes may have affected marketing, they are not the sole factor driving the disappointing numbers.

Directed by Nia DaCosta and featuring Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani, “The Marvels” serves as a sequel to the 2019 blockbuster “Captain Marvel.”