While Disney CEO Bob Iger returned to The Walt Disney Company during a time of crisis (aka when Bob Chapek was running the company), with the intention to save the Mouse House from financial doom, it seems the ABC mogul has not been able to do that at all — in fact, things are not looking good at the box office.
Credit: Inside the Magic
As noted by Screen Rant, “Going into 2023, Disney had a pretty impressive slate of films that matched any of the company’s most successful years. The company was releasing Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 from Marvel, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny from Lucasfilm, Elemental from Pixar, a new Haunted Mansion movie, and a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. ”
Now, as we know, Disney has lost over $900 million dollars on their 8 latest film debuts, which has left many wondering what is going on in the world of entertainment when it comes to Disney. The Little Mermaid, for example, while it took over many headlines in a negative way due to Halle Bailey’s casting as Ariel, it only made a little over $500 million at the box office. This may seem profitable, but since the film cost over $250 million to make, the success was far less than what Disney was hoping for.
Credit: Disney
Marvel is typically an easy win for Disney. Loki just garnered over 11 million views on its season 2 finale, and the franchise as a whole has some of the highest-grossing total records. The newest film, The Marvels, seemed to follow the success of Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, but fell even further down the rabbit hole.
Credit: Marvel Studios
As stated by Disney, The Marvels is about “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 neice Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team-up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as ‘The Marvels’.”
Starring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, the movie showcases a cast that includes Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, and Samuel L. Jackson. The storyline unfolds as Danvers, Rambeau, and Khan join forces when they mysteriously switch places with one another each time they activate their unique powers.
Credit: Marvel Studios
While female-led films have been doing exceptionally at the box office this year, queue Barbie and The Eras Tour movie, Disney has seemingly not cracked the code.
The opening weekend of Marvel’s most recent comic book film, The Marvels, fell short at the box office, bringing in only $46 million in North America. Despite Brie Larson reprising her role as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, the movie marked the lowest global debut in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Its $110 million worldwide earnings were notably less impressive compared to the 2019 blockbuster Captain Marvel, which soared to a billion-dollar success with a $455 million international debut just four years prior. With Kevin Feige having overseen the creation of 33 Marvel movies, it appears that the studio may require a significant boost.
Credit: Marvel Studios
Now, The Marvels star Iman Vellani is speaking out on the failure of The Marvels at the box office.
Yahoo shared Vellani’s thoughts, “I don’t want to focus on something that’s not even in my control, because what’s the point?” she says of the relentless focus on the movie’s box office. “That’s for Bob Iger.”
The interview continued, “[The box office] has nothing to do with me,” Vellani continues. “I’m happy with the finished product, and the people that I care about enjoyed the film. It’s genuinely a good time watching this movie, and that’s all we can ask for with these films. It has superheroes, it take place in space, it’s not that deep and it’s about teamwork and sisterhood. It’s a fun movie, and I’m just so happy that I can share it with people.”
Credit: Marvel Studios
It seems that Vellani believes that the success of the film was not a burden that she, nor the rest of the cast, had to feel, but in fact, pointed blame at Bob Iger for the film’s flop. The actor wrote the film off, stating, “it’s not that deep”, giving The Marvels a shoulder brush, which is not how many would typically view a Marvel film.
As per Bloomberg’s report, Iger, who emerged from retirement in November to navigate the company’s challenges, is reportedly experiencing the pressure of Disney’s current woes. Sources familiar with the CEO’s situation characterize him as “overwhelmed and exhausted” in light of the company’s issues, including reduced attendance at Disney World, a decline in Disney+ subscribers, and the aforementioned setbacks at the box office.
Below is a list of the rest of the movies in Marvel’s Phase 5, and their release dates:
May 3, 2024 – Deadpool 3
July 26, 2024 – Captain America: Brave New World
December 20, 2024 – Thunderbolts
February 14, 2025 – Blade
May 2, 2025 – Fantastic Four
May 1, 2026 – Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
May 7, 2027 – Avengers: Secret Wars
Do you think that Marvel is in need of assistance?
‘The Marvels’ was a box office flop, and now, one lead actress is speaking out on the results, blaming Bob Iger for its failure. Read More