The Marvels arrived in theaters on Friday, and, as predicted, Marvel Studios' 33rd movie failed to go higher, further, faster at the box office.
The Captain Marvel sequel, which also serves as a follow-up to Disney+ shows WandaVision, Ms. Marvel and (to a lesser extent) Secret Invasion, earned a 3-day domestic total of $47 million and a worldwide total of $110 million. This is officially the worst opening weekend for any MCU movie ever.
What went wrong? We can debate the contributing factors back and forth all day, but the "superhero fatigue" theory gains more supporters every time one of these movies underperforms. Reviews have also been mixed, though the film's Rotten Tomatoes score has risen to a "Fresh" 62% since its green splat debut.
Some are attempting to cite the fact that the strikes prevented the cast from doing any promotion, but that doesn't really hold up when you consider the movies that did very well under the same circumstances (most recently, Five Nights at Freddy's).
Whatever the reasons, it's clear that The Multiverse Saga simply hasn't resonated with audiences the same way the Infinity Saga did.
Putting a more positive spin on things, The Marvels does mark the best opening weekend of all time for a movie helmed by a Black female director, 34-year-old Nia DaCosta (Little Woods, Candyman).
"The Marvels is far from the best Marvel Studios has to offer, but it's difficult not to get swept up in its infectious energy... to a point," we said in our review. "A disjointed third act lets it down, but a game cast and plenty of fun/funny moments elevate it above more lacklustre MCU fare (we're looking at you, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumnia)."
"In Marvel Studios’ The Marvels, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as The Marvels.”
The film also stars Zawe Ashton and Park Seo-joon. Nia DaCosta directs, and Kevin Feige is the producer. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Mary Livanos and Matthew Jenkins serve as executive producers. The screenplay is by Megan McDonnell, Nia DaCosta, Elissa Karasik and Zeb Wells.
The Marvels will begin its international rollout on November 8, and was recently granted a China release on November 10, day-and-date with North America.
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