The latest superhero flick from Marvel Studios, “The Marvels,” stumbled out of the gate this weekend, posting the lowest-ever debut for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film. The sequel brought in a mere $47 million domestically, a massive plunge from the $153 million bow of its predecessor, 2019’s “Captain Marvel.”
Industry prognosticators projected “The Marvels” would open to $75 million, but the actual gross didn’t even crack $50 million. Reviews that were less than stellar, confusion over connections to Marvel TV series, and a muted promotional campaign hampered by an actors’ strike all contributed to the weak fan response.
With an estimated $300 million price tag, “The Marvels” now faces a steep uphill climb to profitability. As one analyst put it, the lackluster bow is an “unprecedented Marvel box office collapse.”
The prior record-holders for lowest MCU debut were 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” at $55.4 million and 2015’s “Ant-Man” with $57.2 million. In contrast, recent MCU entries like February’s “Ant-Man” sequel and May’s “Guardians 3” soared well past the $100 million mark.
The Marvels features superheroes such as Captain Marvel, Kamala Khan, Nick Fury, and Monica Rambeu aka Photon.
The next Marvel movie on the list is “Deadpool 3” which isn’t coming as early as July 2024. The R-rated wildcard is likely to fare better than any of the movies we’ve seen from Marvel.