“The Marvels” has had a disappointing opening weekend box office, debuting at $47 million, with $63 million internationally, combining for an opening of $110 million globally.

‘The Marvels’ Falters at the Box Office

The 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a sequel to 2019’s “Captain Marvel,” but also follows up on the stories of Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) from Disney+ series “WandaVision” and Ms. Marvel,” respectively.

“Captain Marvel” was the debut of Brie Larson as the titular superhero, a.k.a. Carol Danvers, and the film debuted to $302 million internationally and $455 million globally. The sequel has fallen far below that and far below expectations. According to Variety, Disney hoped “The Marvels” would pull in at least $140 million.

The film had a $220 million budget and is seeing mixed reviews. It has a 62 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, but an 84 percent audience score. “Captain Marvel,” on the other hand was certified fresh with a 79 percent Tomatometer, but only 45 percent audience score. For better or worse, “The Marvels” is also the shortest MCU film yet at only 1 hour and 45 minutes. “Thor: The Dark World” and “The Incredible Hulk” previously shared the record with runtimes of 1 hour and 52 minutes.

In terms of box office results, “Captain Marvel” had the benefit of coming out between “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” two of the biggest films of all time. And, as Variety points out, interest in the MCU has been dwindling since “Avengers: Endgame” wrapped up the “Infinity Saga” (not to mention the change in the media landscape following COVID-19). “The Marvels” is just the latest film to fall short of expectations.

“The notion of having connected universes and characters traveling between the big and small screen has created some disinterest by audiences,” senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Variety. “After decades of unwavering fan loyalty, the superhero genre seems to be at a crossroads and a reassessment of what will drive audiences to the multiplex is in order. Marvel [is a] massive brand that remains appealing to audiences around the world, but new strategies may have to be instituted to ensure future success.”

The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said earlier this year that they would start focusing on making better (and more successful) Marvel films rather than overwhelming audiences with too much content. As of now, the only MCU film set to be released in 2024 is “Deadpool 3.” Filming of the threequel halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike but should resume soon.

Four MCU films are in the works for 2025, however: “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Fantastic Four,” “Thunderbolts,” and “Blade.” “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” is set for 2026, followed by “Avengers: Secret Wars” in 2027. Several other films and Disney+ series are in development, too.

“The Marvels” hit theaters on November 10, 2023. It was directed by Nia DaCosta, who co-wrote the screenplay with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik. In addition to Parris, Larson, and Vellani, the film stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Zawe Ashton as Dar-Benn.

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