“The Marvels,” the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), fell short of expectations, garnering just $47 million (£38 million) in its opening weekend in the United States. This performance marks the MCU’s lowest-ever opening, in stark contrast to the historic success of “Avengers: Endgame,” which raked in a record-breaking $1.2 billion (£980 million) in global ticket sales during its debut in 2019.
Starring Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris, “The Marvels” serves as a sequel to the 2019 film “Captain Marvel.” However, the new installment experienced a 67% decline in box office performance compared to its predecessor, prompting analyst David A Gross to label it as an “unprecedented Marvel box office collapse.” He emphasized that second superhero films typically outperform the originals, highlighting the significant challenge Marvel faces in recouping its hefty $220 million (£179 million) production cost.
The reasons behind this unexpected downturn remain unclear. Speculation includes superhero fatigue among cinema-goers after a plethora of successful blockbusters. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which premiered in May, fared better with a $118 million (£96 million) opening at the US box office.
Gross pointed to the rise of streaming services, a recently concluded actors’ strike hindering promotional activities, and the impact of “unimaginative and bad movies” in the superhero genre as potential contributing factors. Forbes’ Dani Di Placido had previously noted that superhero films might be losing their essential appeal, with Marvel Studios potentially releasing too much content too quickly, confusing and fatiguing the audience.
While the “The Marvels” storyline involves Captain Marvel attempting to save a destabilized universe with the assistance of Ms. Marvel (Vellani) and Captain Monica Rambeau (Parris), critical reviews have been mixed. The New York Times criticized it as “You’ve seen this movie 32 times before,” and the Guardian labeled it a “superheroes to zeros in tepid franchise addition.” Variety described it as a “skittery sequel loaded down with MCU baggage,” but Screen Rant noted a surprisingly better-than-expected Rotten Tomatoes audience score after initial negative reviews.
In the US box office rankings, the horror film “Five Nights at Freddy’s” secured the second position, followed by Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in third, and Sofia Coppola’s biopic “Priscilla” in fourth. Martin Scorsese’s historical drama “Killers of the Flower Moon,” featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, claimed the fifth spot.