"The Marvels" Flops

 The Daily Mail reports that "The Marvels implodes at the box office with $47 million payday (but still takes the top spot) in lowest weekend opening ever for an MCU film." Although this article does not go into details when comparing it to other MCU films, the other articles I saw were comparing raw dollar figures. In other words, even considering inflation and record high ticket prices, it still did worse in unadjusted dollars than films released two decades ago.

    I will admit that I went to see the film, despite my strong reservations (I never even saw Captain Marvel), because I have a son who is a die-hard MCU fan and has probably seen almost every MCU film and show that has been released since Disney purchased Marvel and he desperately wanted to see it. However, it was clear to me even before the movie began that it was going to lose a lot of money, and my feeling only grew stronger as the film progressed.

    So, to start off, we went to a 5:30 showing on Saturday: so, while not the highest demand time frame, it still should have been crowded on an opening weekend for what was supposed to be a blockbuster film. Instead, we got there late, walking in during the last of the previews. The theater was perhaps 20 to 25% full, with the majority of the audience being male--in other words, it wasn't drawing a female crowd, which is going to be a big problem for a film that was specifically made for a female audience. 

    And the film was quite definitely made for a female audience. The three main characters and most of the named supporting characters were female (and diverse, of course). Male characters did nothing important or significant. There were no male equivalents of Black Widow or the Scarlet Witch. There was, however, lots of hugging between the three main characters as they emoted over various things between the scattered fight scenes and saving refugees and the world. There were lots of cute kittens. There was lots of sharing emotions, recriminations, tears, and making up. There was a lot of hanging out in comfortable clothes like pajama bottoms, running shorts, and loose, baggy shirts. There was a whole planet that resembled the Greek islands, where everyone spoke through song, wore bright clothes, and mingled and danced all day. 

    And speaking of saving the world, the film lifted its plot straight from Spaceballs: in an effort to save her planet whose air had become unbreathable, the villain (who is totally forgettable) hatches a plan to open hypergates to suck air and water from a couple alien planets, and, finally, to suck away our own Sun. Despite this, the film is completely lacking in the tension and gravitas matching the possible end of life on our fair planet. 

    It probably would have been a fine film for Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel (not Disney+, but the cable channel) to show during a weekday afternoon sandwiched between reruns of That's So Raven and Liv and Maddie. It was not a story worth a quarter billion dollars to film, set in a genre whose primary audience are males. 

    Production figures seem to vary according to the source, but from what I gathered, the film cost almost $250 million to make, although I'm not sure if this includes the costs of the many re-shoots that apparently took place. This also doesn't include marketing costs (although one of the gripes of the film's apologists is that it wasn't given sufficient marketing). So, even at a conservative $300 million for total production and marketing costs, the film will need to bring in about $600 to $650 million to break even.