News culture With a 78% audience loss, the fall is historic for this Marvel film. Nothing is going well at Disney
What if the Marvel Cinematic Universe was coming to an end? The MCU seems to have lost its luster and is struggling to interest a large audience. Even longtime fans shun Disney’s latest superhero productions, both the series broadcast on Disney+ and the films shown in theaters. The feature film currently in theaters had the worst start in Avengers history and its fall has only just begun.
“The Marvels” disaster at the box office
The superheroes of the House of Ideas have struggled to regain their splendor since the end of phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the death of Thanos during a legendary climax. Phase 4 did not convince fans and phase 5 seems to follow its sad example. OK, some of the MCU films managed to do well (Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed $1.922 billion at the box office), but the majority of productions did not meet the objectives set by Disney. The Marvels is the standard bearer of a strategy which in 2023 will show all its limits.
The film directed by Nia DaCosta and which brings together on screen Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Miss Marvel (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) obtained during its first days of theatrical release the title of “film of the least profitable MCU in box office history” with barely 110 million dollars internationally, including 46 million in its domestic market alone. Worse still, this trend is increasing to the point of plunging The Marvels into the twists and turns of the rankings. In its second weekend in theaters, the film generated only $10 million in its domestic marketa loss of 78% of its audience in the space of a short week.
At this rate and with an estimated budget of $219.8 million (excluding marketing costs), The Marvels could become a real financial pit for the North American entertainment giant after 15 years of destroying the box office. This sad record could well announce a global overhaul of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the return of certain emblematic figures. Rumors suggest a hypothetical comeback of Tony Stark aka Iron Man in the guise of Robert Downey Jr. Other Avengers would also be called to the rescue.
A year 2024 to rethink the MCU
The Marvel Cinematic Universe must absolutely review its copy otherwise it will disappear into general indifference. Disney is aware of this and is finally taking stock of the changes to be made to its MCU in order to see it return to the odor of sanctity with fans. The strike of writers and then actors and actresses also had a huge impact on the schedule of future Marvel releases. In 2024, only one MCU film will be shown in theaters, a first in more than 10 years. Deadpool 3 will therefore have the responsibility of keeping the MCU alive in the hearts of spectators while waiting for a year 2025 rich in four feature films. Here is the MCU film schedule:
- Deadpool 3 (juillet 2024)
- Captain America: Brave New World (February 2025)
- Fantastic Four (May 2025)
- Thunderbolts (juillet 2025)
- Blade (November 2025)
- Avengers : The Kang Dynasty (mai 2026)
- Avengers : Secret Wars (mai 2027)
