“The Marvels” earned just $10.2 million at the domestic box office in its second weekend, dropping 79% from its already underwhelming opening weekend take of $47 million, per Variety. The 79% fall is the worst second-weekend percentage drop ever posted by a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
‘The Marvels’ Box Office Drops 79% In Second Weekend
“The Marvels,” the newest film in the popular MCU franchise of movies that once printed money at the box office, was released on November 10, coming in shy of its already low $50 million domestic and $140 million global opening estimates with $47 million and $110 million takes, respectively. The feature’s $10.2 million earned in its second weekend marks a 79% drop the likes of which Marvel Studios has ever seen; Variety writes that the MCU’s previous worst second-weekend drop was from 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which fell 69.9% from its first-to-second weekends.
For reference, the average second-weekend drop for films released to a large number of theaters is typically around 40-to-50 percent. Studios generally grow concerned when the number nears 60%, as a drop of that magnitude indicates that people who wanted to see the movie have already done so and that the film is generating few repeat viewings.
A drop of nearly 80% is historic. Once box office totals are ultimately confirmed and become official, the 79% drop from “The Marvels” will be within the top 25 worst second-weekend drops of all time, according to Box Office Mojo.
“The Marvels” finished third at the domestic box office this weekend, well behind “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” ($44 million) and “Trolls Band Together” ($30.6 million). “The Marvels” tied with “Thanksgiving,” a new seasonal horror movie that opened to $10.2 million this weekend.
“Next Goal Wins,” a Taika Waititi-directed film distributed by the Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures, also underwhelmed in its opening weekend, per Variety, earning just $2.7 million.
“The Marvels” continues a concerning trend of Disney-produced films underperforming at the box office. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and “Haunted Mansion” all struggled at the 2023 box office, failing to recoup their colossal budgets and losing money for the company.
‘The Marvels’
“The Marvels” sees the return of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers and 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,” released in March of 2019, was the debut of Larson as the titular superhero, and the film earned over $1.1 billion globally throughout its theatrical run. The movie opened to $153 million domestically, a number Variety speculates “The Marvels” will struggle to hit throughout its entire time in domestic theaters.
You can read our review of “The Marvels” here.
Did you check out “The Marvels” in theaters? If so, what did you think? Let us know in the comments.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.