The Marvels Box Office: From SAG-AFTRA Strike to Superhero Fatigue, 5 Reasons Why Brie Larson's Marvel Film is Failing Worldwide

The Marvels is the latest in a long-line of franchise films that have failed to make noise at the box-office in 2023. Grossing $110.3 million worldwide over the weekend (The Flash opened with $136 million for comparison), the Brie Larson-starrer easily had one of the lowest openings a MCU film has seen in a while – which is all the more baffling considering the first film ranks among the franchise’s highest grossing films. The Flash and Indiana Jones 5 Flop: From Inflated Budgets to Lackluster Marketing, 5 Reasons Why Big Releases are Failing at Box Office.

A lot of elements indeed were working against The Marvels considering it released right at the tail end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, and with superhero fatigue growing among the general audience, it’s not hard to see why the film did fall short of expectations at the box office. So, let’s take a look at five major reasons why The Marvels isn’t able to find box-office success worldwide.

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Released at the End of the SAG-AFTRA Strike

Hollywood saw a major shift take place in 2023 when actors decided to go on a strike, and seeing as to how major stars weren’t allowed to promote their upcoming releases, it sure did put a dent in the marketing plans for many tentpole releases. With The Marvels releasing on November 10, 2023 - right as the actors’ strike was about the end - the damage was already done due to the main stars of the film – Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani – not being able to promote the film. This sure did lead to the marketing exposure for the film being low compared to other Marvel Studios releases.

Marvel Studios Internal Problems

Lately, many reports have started revealing the major internal struggles Marvels Studios has been facing, and one could easily make out why a film of this calibre might have its production be impacted negatively. With the studio in disarray ever since COVID hit, and the reported reshoots the film went through after receiving negative test scores, the audience might have already lost their faith in the film before it hit the big screens.

Marvel Studios’ Recent Track Record

The reception to MCU Phase Four and Five has been considerably mixed when compared to the glory days of Phase One to Three. With many projects failing to hit the mark critically, fans had already began writing off any future films of the franchise due to the track record being tainted. With The Marvels receiving mixed reviews, fans might have just decided to skip the film altogether.

Inflated Budget

Like many early COVID productions, The Marvels carried an inflated budget where the film cost around $274.8 million to make. Joining the ranks of some of the costliest movies of 2023 like The Flash and Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, it’s easy to see why The Marvels’ $100 million plus opening would be seen as a bomb. With the box office excitement not being able to match the heights of the production budget, this definitely is one of the many reasons for the film underperforming.

Superhero Fatigue

And now coming to the most obvious reason – superhero fatigue. It’s a problem that has plagued the comic book movie genre for a while now, and with The Flash and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania underperforming, it’s definitely in full effect. Considering that it has hurt Marvel Studios more as opposed to its competitors, The Marvels released at a time where the studio just doesn’t have the same pull anymore due to the oversaturation of content, and audiences crave for new IPs rather than the ones that have been dominating theatres for a while now. From Aquaman 2 to The Marvels, 5 Upcoming Superhero Movies of 2023 and Why We are Worried About Their Box Office Fates.

With The Marvels underperforming, it will surely send Marvel a message now. As the studio gears up for next year, it’ll be interesting to see how they handle their upcoming releases.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 14, 2023 09:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).