Summary
The Marvelsmight not shake off one negative box office record as previously hoped. The Brie Larson film stays on track for a disappointing start to its impending theatrical run.
TheCaptain MarvelsequelThe Marvelstakes on two more protagonists in Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau, both introduced inMs. MarvelandWandaVision, respectively. While the firstCaptain Marvelfilm was a commercial success with more than a billion at the box office, the outlook for the sequel was far from optimistic from the onset. Due to the general air of fatigue stalking the MCU’s current phase and the negative fan reaction to leading lady Larson, some observers worried thatThe Marvelswas heading for a box office crash.
A week ago, it was reported thatThe Marvelsdrew alarmingly low presales by MCU standardspartly due to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour getting a theatrical release in select theaters and potentially diverting interest fromThe Marvels. There was some hope that some improvements would be seen beyond that point. However, a new report byThe Hollywood Reporterconfirms thatThe Marvelsis still on track to disappoint, with a current opening projection of between $70-80 million dollars at the box office as a conservative estimate, which is less than half of the opening for its predecessorCaptain Marvel,which was welcomed with $153.4 million.
While that might be seen as a worst-case scenario by some, even more liberal estimates giveThe Marvelsabout $90 million on the high end, which would still place it under the overwhelming majority of MCU films, with 25 of the franchise’s 32 released films having opened to more than $100 million. On the other end,Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaopened to a disastrous $57.2 million at the box office to start the year off with a whimper, which was only slightly lifted byGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3passing the $100 million mark for its opening and stopping less than a fifth short of a billion at the end of its theatrical run. The upcoming sequel might come and go unnoticed with a disappointing box office start, especially sinceThe Marvelsallegedly has an MCU-record-setting short runtime.
It does seem thatThe Marvelsis destined to go down with issues, despite Kevin Feige and the rest of the execs at Marvel Studios seeing a lot of potential in the property. The projected poor opening and potentially poor overall run, coupled with havingAvengersstar Larson allegedly ready to quit the MCUdue to the harassment from toxic fans, makes it difficult to imagine a third film or even a major role for any of the characters inThe Marvelsgoing forward. This is a shame in the case of Parris' Monica Rambeau, who has only so far appeared as a supporting player in one largely unrelated Disney Plus show.
Despite being conceptualized and promoted as being a unique project with more facets than the standard MCU fare, thisfatigue-mitigation tactic from Feige might not saveThe Marvels, as variations in the formula have rarely helped newer projects hit theaters with the same sort of impact that the first three phases of the MCU had with almost every project that released. To what degreeThe Marvelswill sink or soar might be up in the air, but these predictions are a grim signal that it might end its run with a crash and burn.
The Marvelsis set for theatrical release on the 10th of November, 2023.
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