The Big Picture
- The Marvels had a disappointing opening weekend, earning only $110 million globally, compared to Captain Marvel‘s $455 million in 2019.
- Recent Marvel films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have been successful, but others like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have underperformed.
- With a reported budget of $275 million, The Marvels faces a steep climb to profitability and will face tough competition from upcoming films like Napoleon and The Hunger Games, potentially losing premium screens to the latter.
The Marvels, the embattled new release from Disney and Marvel Studios is — undeservedly — heading to the scrap heap of history following a record-breaking low opening weekend for a Marvel Cinematic Universe picture. The Marvels had its domestic debut with a franchise-record low of $47 million, supplemented by an additional $63 million from international markets, resulting in a combined global opening of $110 million. The underachievement certainly wasn’t aided by the SAG-AFTRA strike, with stars like Brie Larson and Iman Vellani only able to start promoting the film the day before it was due for release.
This figure is notably less than the hugely impressive $455 million achieved by Captain Marvel in its global debut in 2019. The character’s arrival was teased in the post-credits sting of Avengers: Infinity War, and as a result, Captain Marvel benefited from heightened anticipation for Avengers: Endgame, ultimately securing a domestic lifetime gross of $426 million and a global total of $1.1 billion.
But it isn’t 2019 anymore. Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 achieved impressive box office success in the post-pandemic era. However, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania from this year and Thor: Love and Thunder from last year were perceived as under-performing in comparison. And not just at the box office, but with critics too. The Marvels currently sits at a 62% score on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and was awarded a franchise-low B CinemaScore from opening day audiences.
How Much Money Will ‘The Marvels’ Lose?
According to Matthew Belloni of Puck, the multiplier attached to the reported $275 million budget of the film gives the studio and the movie a metaphorical mountain to climb. A budget that high, combined with the shared takings of exhibitors and the costs of press and advertising — likely to be higher given there was no viral or impromptu marketing that could take place due to its stars being excluded — means the film will need to earn around $700 million if it’s to squeeze into profitability.
And given the competition coming soon, in the form of Ridley Scott‘s Napoleon in two weeks as well as The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes. The Marvels is set to lose all of its premium large format screens such as IMAX to The Hunger Games, which will hurt the bottom line even more. At this rate, Marvel will need more than the Time Stone to fix this.
The Marvels
Carol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe.
- Release Date
- November 10, 2023
- Director
- Nia DaCosta
- Cast
- Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton, Iman Vellani
- Rating
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 105 minutes
- Main Genre
- Superhero