‘The Marvels’ Just Broke a Terrible Record

Since 2008, Marvel Studios has created some of the most popular superhero films to hit the big screen. Out of the top ten most successful movies of all time, three of them are Marvel movies — Avengers: Endgame (2019), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and The Avengers (2012). Characters like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Doctor Strange, and more, though created decades ago, appear to be more popular than ever.

The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Studios in 2009, just one year after the studio wowed audiences with the release of Iron Man (2008), starring Robert Downey Jr. Since then, the studio has appeared to be unstoppable, making Disney more than $11 billion with the release of 33 movies.

It used to feel like every movie Marvel put out was guaranteed to be a hit, with fans purchasing tickets to see the movies on the big screen weeks in advance. Unfortunately, things have not been smooth sailing for the studio in recent years.

Related: How to Watch the Marvel Movies In Order: The Ultimate Guide to Watching Every MCU Film

Now, Marvel is dealing with its lowest-grossing film to date — The Marvels (2023).

The Marvels saw the return of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. The three powerhouse women find that their powers have become entangled. They must work together and use each other’s strengths to help save the world.

Sadly, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe just did not seem interested in seeing The Marvels in theaters. Per Variety:

“The Marvels” opened on Nov. 10 with $46 million domestically to land the worst debut in the MCU, the franchise’s rare misfire out of the gate. Things only got gloomier. Ticket sales cratered by 78% in its sophomore outing to cement another ignominious record: the biggest second-weekend drop of the series. With an early end to the theatrical run of “The Marvels,” 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” ($264 million, not adjusted for inflation) is no longer the lowest-grossing entry of the series…

Reviews were mixed, but a bigger problem is that “The Marvels” ended up bearing the brunt of the audience’s burnout toward this ever-expanding franchise, one that spans the big and small screen. This year alone, Marvel has released two other movies and three Disney+ TV series.

Marvel’s Struggles

Fans love the stories of the superheroes they have come to know and love, but many are wondering when there are just too many stories. There are currently four Thor movies, three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and three Captain America films with a fourth in the works.

Thor: Love & Thunder (2022) was the most recent Thor films, and had a lot of mixed reactions. Then, there was Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), which also received a flurry of mixed reviews. Both are two of the lowest-ranked Marvel movies on Rotten Tomatoes.

Related: MCU Star Chris Evans Breaks Silence on Captain America Return

Love & Thunder and Doctor Strange 2 were followed up by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), which is the lowest-ranked Marvel movie to date. It is, of course, not the worst Marvel movie in terms of box office numbers, but fans did not enjoy it. It certainly didn’t help the situation when it was reported that Disney and Marvel released the movie knowing that the CGI was not good.

Of course, it is not all bad news. In 2022, Marvel also released the sequel to its 2018 hit Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Sadly, the original film’s star, Chadwick Boseman, passed away from cancer in 2020. So, while the sequel movie did not feature the beloved actor, it did honor him in a way that fans very much appreciated. Angela Bassett — who played Queen Ramonda — was even nominated for an Oscar.

Marvel currently has more than a dozen movies and television series in the works, including Deadpool 3, Shang-Chi 2, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Captain America: Brave New World.

Did you see The Marvels in theaters? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!