Box Office | "The Marvels' Meltdown: Disney MCU Experiences Its Lowest Box Office Opening Ever at $47 Million 

Since the release of "Iron Man" in 2008, the Marvel cinematic universe has been an unstoppable force in the history of the box office. However, that sense of invincibility is now showing signs of wear and tear. The superhero factory reached a new low with the weekend debut of "The Marvels," which opened with a mere $47 million, as per studio estimates released on Sunday.

This marks the 33rd installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, serving as a sequel to the 2019 film "Captain Marvel," led by Brie Larson. It garnered less than a third of the impressive $153.4 million that its predecessor had amassed during its initial release, eventually going on to earn $1.13 billion worldwide.

Sequels, especially those within the Marvel universe, are not typically expected to perform poorly. David A. Gross, the head of the movie consulting firm Franchise Research Entertainment, referred to it as "an unprecedented Marvel box-office collapse."

Before "The Marvels," the lowest opening for a Marvel movie owned by Walt Disney Co. was "Ant-Man," which debuted with $57.2 million in 2015. To find a comparable slow start for a Marvel film, one would have to look outside the Disney MCU, such as Sony's "Morbius" in 2022 or 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" reboot, which opened with $25.6 million in 2015.

However, "The Marvels" was a sequel with a budget exceeding $200 million, following the success of a $1 billion blockbuster. It was also a groundbreaking Marvel release in various ways. The film, directed by Nia DaCosta, marked the first MCU installment directed by a Black woman. Moreover, it was a rare Marvel movie led by three women: Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani.

Reviews for the film were not overwhelmingly positive (with a 63% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes), and audience reactions were also less enthusiastic. "The Marvels" is only the third MCU release to receive a "B" grade on CinemaScore from moviegoers, following "Eternals" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."

"The Marvels" did manage to accumulate $63.3 million in overseas ticket sales, but it may be remembered as a turning point in the MCU. Over the years, the franchise has amassed an impressive $33 billion globally, a milestone that Disney highlighted when reporting its box office earnings on Sunday.

However, with an increasingly crowded landscape of superhero films and series on both movie screens and streaming platforms, some analysts have detected a growing fatigue among audiences. Disney CEO Bob Iger himself mentioned the possibility of oversaturation in the Marvel universe.

"In the last three and a half years, the growth of the genre has come to a halt," Gross stated in a newsletter on Sunday.

In any case, something seems to be changing for superheroes. It is highly likely that this year's box office champion will be "Barbie," which has become a massive hit, grossing over $1.4 billion worldwide for Warner Bros.

Nevertheless, Marvel still managed to produce recent successes. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" premiered this summer with an opening of $118 million before ultimately earning $845.6 million worldwide. Sony's "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" garnered $690.5 million globally and, with rave reviews, is widely expected to be an Oscar contender.

The actors' strike also did not do any favors for "The Marvels." The cast of the film was not allowed to promote it until the strike was called off late Wednesday evening when SAG-AFTRA and the studios reached an agreement. Larson and her co-stars quickly engaged with social media and made surprise appearances in theaters. Larson even appeared on "The Tonight Show" on Friday.

The typically well-organized release schedule of MCU films has also been disrupted by the strikes. "Deadpool 3" is the only Marvel movie on the studio's 2024 calendar, set to open on July 26.