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Marvel Studios Box-Office Slump Shows Limits of Disney’s Superhero Universe

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  • Marvel Studios Box-Office Slump Shows Limits of Disney’s Superhero Universe

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/marvel-...=hp_lead_pos11

    “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Walt Disney Co. ’s latest superhero epic, crushed expectations at the box office on its opening weekend, grossing $144.2 million domestically.

    The movie’s second weekend wasn’t as impressive. Box-office receipts fell 68% to $46.6 million, tying with last year’s “Black Widow” for the steepest second-weekend drop for a Marvel Studios superhero movie, according to film-industry analyst Comscore.

    The uneven performance by “Thor” points to a bigger issue for Disney: Marvel Studios, its most profitable film studio, is in a bit of a slump.
    Since Disney acquired Marvel in 2009, the studio has produced 25 superhero films that have grossed a total $25 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest-earning film studios in Hollywood history. Among them are Marvel’s 2019 “Avengers: Endgame,” the highest-grossing movie of all time with $2.8 billion at the global box office; “Avengers: Infinity War,” which grossed $2 billion, and eight more that topped $1 billion each.
    But since the beginning of 2021, the average global box-office gross of the six films produced by Marvel has fallen to $773.6 million—roughly half the $1.5 billion average of the previous six films.

    Gen-Z audiences might be less interested in superheroes and cosplay, the dress-up trend among superfans like this one taking a selfie in 2019 with actress Brie Larson.
    Photo: Chris Pizzello/Associated Press

    Most special-effects-heavy superhero action films cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce and hundreds of millions more to market, which raises the bar for studios like Marvel to generate a profit.
    Some of Marvel’s most recent films, including 2021’s “Eternals” ($402.3 million total gross), “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” ($420.7 million) and “Black Widow” ($373.2 million) have stuck out as major flops, at least by the lofty standards of Marvel movies’ previous box-office performances.
    Critical reception of the films has suffered as well. According to Rotten Tomatoes, a website that tracks movie reviews, the last six Marvel titles averaged a 75% approval rating among critics, compared with 88.5% for the prior six.
    Some recent films bucked the trend. Last year’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”—a co-production with Sony Pictures Entertainment—was a critical darling, an audience favorite and a huge box-office success, earning $1.9 billion globally. And 2019’s “Captain Marvel,” despite weaker reviews than most Marvel films receive from critics, still earned $1.1 billion in theaters. But the franchise’s recent inconsistent performance is unusual.

    A Disney spokesperson said some recent Marvel films might have suffered from lower attendance due to lingering worries over the Covid-19 pandemic. The spokesperson said “Thor: Love and Thunder” has grossed more than $600 million globally going into its fourth weekend in theaters, without receipts from China and Russia. The previous movie featuring the character, “Thor: Ragnarok,” took in $135 million from those two countries.
    Wall Street analysts say recharging the cinematic pipeline should be a high priority for Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek, who just had his contract renewed for 2 1/2 more years. Disney stock is down 33% this year. The company is slated to report earnings Aug. 10.
    “One of the biggest questions about Disney is, what is the outlook for the movie business?” Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne said. “Theatrical releases help build the franchises that drive a lot of the business.”
    For years after they are released, Marvel and Star Wars films go on to be reliable revenue sources, living on as merchandise, theme-park attractions and subscriptions to the flagship Disney+ streaming service, Mr. Swinburne said. Mr. Chapek needs to reassure investors and fans that there are exciting—and profitable—things coming in these franchises, and line up major talent to produce them, he added.

    Keeping the Marvel machine churning is doubly important now because Disney’s Lucasfilm Ltd. studio, which produces “Star Wars” films and shows, doesn’t have any movies near completion over the next year. Disney has steered Star Wars content toward its Disney+ service, a strategy that yielded some hits like “The Mandalorian” but no box-office receipts.
    Superhero fatigue could also explain some of the theatrical rut. Public-opinion research company Morning Consult found a greater share of U.S. adults were tired of those movies than in 2018, and that younger, Gen-Z audiences were less interested overall in comic books, superheroes and the dress-up trend among superfans known as cosplay.
    “We’re definitely starting to see some cracks in the armor here,” said Adam Epstein, Morning Consult senior editor. “I don’t think it’s going to force Disney to overhaul its entire superhero industrial complex overnight, but it’s a trend that’s likely to become more pronounced over time as younger people gain more purchasing power.”



  • #2
    It was never a question of IF "Superhero Fatigue" and the Multiverse nonsense was going to get old and become an uninteresting fad of a decade gone by, but WHEN that will happen...when the next generation will look at this material and consider it quaint and to be honest, uncool stuff from when grandpa was growing up; how quaint that he keeps one of those silly Chubaka toys on his "book" shelf. One has to believe that if our species is going to avoid becoming extinct, future generations will eventually have to become interested in IDEAS rather than spectacle...,substance rather than flash. Movies can't keep descending into nothing more than a two hour string of SFX promotional reels. Eventually the child has to progress from being fascinated by the glittering mobile hanging above the crib to becoming curious about what can be made with his building blocks. And Disney...no one ever has to kvetch about The Rodent going bankrupt; it's a very, very smart mouse.

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    • #3
      Movies go in cycles - the Bogart gangster pics and John Wayne westerns are history, to be found now only in the odd arthouse and streaming on Criterion, and eventually, so will the superhero cycle of the 20-teens (as it may come to be referred to) be. It's had a good run, and I'm not surprised that it's starting to run out of steam.

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      • #4
        I'm so glad I skipped Thor. I groan anytime I have to take a Marvel film anymore. You can sense that they've lost their touch with the casual movie goer ever since they started coming off the assembly line at the same pace government prints money. Even more so since the plethora of streaming spin offs joined in. I'm also tired of paying 65% for a cemented in 3 week film that blows all of it's load in 3 days.

        I did more business with Crawdads in half the time than any marvel film since 2019. That's saying something.

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        • #5
          As a fan of comic book movies and TV shows, I have stopped going to Marvel movies. They have gotten so mediocre, reusing the same tired plots with different characters and locations, and have having more booms and bangs than actual plot, that I now find them a waste of time. The Marvel TV shows are almost as bad, but not by much.

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          • #6
            I groan anytime I have to take a Marvel film anymore. You can sense that they've lost their touch with the casual movie goer
            Yeah the bloom is kind of off the rose. I don't know what everyone else's problem is, but for me there are just too many threads to follow. You not only have to see all the movies but all the TV shows and whatever else too... no thanks. I haven't watched a Marvel film in a few years, and after the last one was over I had NO. BLOODY. IDEA. what I had just seen and even my good friend Keith (a Marvel nerd) couldn't really tell me what the story was, even though he had also just seen the movie.

            Thor did pretty well for us, but not blockbuster business. We just wrapped up a 2 week run with it and 2 weeks was definitely enough.

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            • #7
              Multiple factors are involved in the under-performance of the latest Marvel movies.

              From the first Iron Man movie in 2008 to Avengers: Endgame in 2019 there was a "big picture" road map that unified those movies and gave them a sense of direction. The Infinity Stones had fans anticipating the ultimate show-down with Thanos. Adding to that, many of the movies were genuinely very good and entertaining. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was one of the best installments. It set up Civil War and had the final Infinity War saga start off with a great deal of tension.

              The Marvel movies following Endgame don't appear to contribute to any new overall grand plan. As a result there isn't as much pressure on movie-goers to see every Marvel release.

              The deaths of Tony Stark (Iron Man), Steve Rogers (Captain America), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and Vision leave a pretty big vacuum in the saga.

              Disney+ has to be a factor in Marvel movies under-performing at the box office. There is not much wait time between a Marvel movie debuting on cinema screens and then arriving on Disney+ to stream at no extra charge. I don't even have a Disney+ subscription and don't have much desire to get one. As it stands I intend to finally cancel my Dish Network service and maybe get rid of either Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

              External factors have to be contributing to the lackluster business. Anyone not making lots of money has to be watching their spending these days. Gasoline and food prices are ridiculous. A lot of renters have seen their rent prices spike. Although the news claims people are earning more money I'm not seeing it. The averages the news media cites for wage gains are more than offset by inflation in various categories. I've been to the theater just once in the 2022 Summer movie season (to see Top Gun: Maverick). I've skipped everything else. I've been cutting back on all sorts of discretionary "fun" spending, like eating out at restaurants, socializing with friends at a tavern or just going to the show. I've had to do that to offset a few cost curve balls (like needing new tires on my pickup) and enduring the price gouging for basics like food and fuel.

              I get so annoyed by people citing the low unemployment stats as "proof" the US economy technically isn't in a recession. News flash: people can have jobs yet still feel like times are tough. Someone can be employed yet be financially struggling or be flat broke and drowning in red ink. The inflation on essentials has made a great deal of Americans technically under-employed. Somebody making $50 per hour or pulling in a six figure salary might find it easy to visit a cinema or do all sorts of fun things whenever he chooses. People like me will have to settle for visiting cinemas less often until this price gouging on basics settles down or our wages rise enough to offset it.
              Last edited by Bobby Henderson; 07-31-2022, 04:47 PM.

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              • #8
                How to market movies like Disney:

                BeatingDeadHorse.gif




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                • #9
                  Marvel Studios, its most profitable film studio, is in a bit of a slump.
                  I think pretty much any other studio in the world would love to be in the same $300 million 'slump'.

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                  • #10
                    I think there is legit cause for concern.

                    These Marvel super hero movies cost a fortune to produce and market. Each movie has to clean-up at the box office in order to offset those costs and then earn a profit. Years ago when most Marvel movies were doing consistently well with critics and audiences that boosted their overall marketing appeal. Theater customers had the impression the Marvel brand was dependable on delivering a good show.

                    With Thanos and several other tent-pole characters gone from the franchise the future looks pretty uncertain. Flops like The Eternals raise those concerns to a higher level. Disney has quite a lot of its future fortunes hinged on how well it can continue to sell Marvel and Star Wars related content. I think it's obvious quite a few movie-goers are getting Marvel and Star Wars fatigue.

                    I'm basically checked-out of any new Star Wars stuff. I don't care. The J.J. Abrams movies kind of finished the job at ruining Star Wars for me. The three prequels began that process. The only Star Wars property I care anything about at all is the original non-specialized theatrical cuts from 1977-1983. If Disney ever releases Blu-ray or UHD discs of those cuts (like they could in 2027 for the 50th anniversary of Star Wars) I might buy that. But I'm not getting a Disney+ subscription for any of the other shit.

                    New Marvel movies (and Disney+ TV shows) aren't exactly required viewing either. I think there is considerable pressure on Kevin Feige and other Marvel honchos to make future Marvel movies better. The franchise has lost some of its star power. So it has to make up for that with improved stories and acting performances. It's assumed the visuals will be "spectacular." Too often the effects are chewing gum for the eyeballs. The visuals look pretty, but they're not relatable. It's almost comedic how implausible some of the concepts can be. It's almost like a fourth-wall-break when I see a "nano-tech" super hero suit appear over some hero's body out of a wrist watch or just out of the blue. The same goes for actors miming away at transparent wrap-around computer displays and other stuff. Movie fans 20 years from now might be laughing at that shit.

                    I think Disney really needs to look at doing some content diversification at the top level -stuff they book into movie theaters. They paid a huge fortune for the Star Wars and Marvel properties and want to milk both for all they're worth. I think they've already crossed some lines and are turning off viewers. Disney could be in some really deep trouble several years from now without some course correction or back-up plans.

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                    • #11
                      It's almost like a fourth-wall-break when I see a "nano-tech" super hero suit appear over some hero's body out of a wrist watch or just out of the blue.
                      THIS right here is one of the most annoying Marvel things. Iron Man just touches the top of his head or something, and clickety-click-click-click-click there's an impenetrable fortress of solid steel around him that somehow had been packed into the size of a Chiclet. On top of that, this suit can withstand him being heaved into the pavement multiple times or have vehicles or other debris fall on him, and when he's done with whatever mayhem he's doing, click-click-zip-zoom-click and the whole thing folds up neat as you please again, without so much as a squeak or a rattle or a bent hinge. IT'S STUPID!

                      This is why Top Gun has done so well. The bulk (or maybe all) of the flying sequences in that movie were real, and for people who didn't think they were, they had Tom Cruise at the beginning of the movie saying they were. People knew there were real humans riding in those planes. This is one thing movies are supposed to do -- make you relate to the situation you're seeing. Who can relate to any of the Marvel nonsense, especially when anybody with two brain cells KNOWS it's all a bunch of nonsensical animated cartoonery? Most adults would probably tell you they've grown out of watching cartoons, but here comes Marvel trying to get them to watch two-hour-movies that are almost completely animated!

                      I mean, the flight scenes in the 1978 Superman movie were more believable than most Marvel stuff.

                      The Marvel movies definitely have their fans, I'm here to testify to that. But more and more of them are getting off the bus, or deciding to wait for the home view. There is definitely content overload, I think. When there are a bunch of Marvel TV shows, it doesn't make the movies seem so special any more.
                      Last edited by Mike Blakesley; 08-04-2022, 11:43 PM.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Mike Blakesley View Post
                        Most adults would probably tell you they've grown out of watching cartoons, but here comes Marvel trying to get them to watch two-hour-movies that are almost completely animated!
                        I'm glad you said that! I've seen previews and ads for Marvel Monster Mash Movies that look like cartoons, to me. I've been telling that to people for a while, now, but nobody seems to get it.

                        Compared to Superman, the one-and-only with Christoper Reve, Marvel Mash looks, LITERALLY, like a Saturday morning cartoon.

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                        • #13
                          Another article in a similar vein:

                          Poll: Americans Are Falling Out of Love with Superhero Movies, Disney Blames Pandemic for Marvel ‘Fatigue’

                          While studios continue to make spin-off, sequels, prequels, reboots, and remakes of superhero movies no one asked for — each seemingly more woke than the last, see here, here, and here — Americans’ enthusiasm for men and women in capes is waning, a Morning Consult survey found.

                          The poll data shows that “enjoyment of the seemingly never-ending stream of superhero content continues to drop among U.S. adults — and among even self-identified Marvel fans,” the report states. Between November 2021 and July 2022 the share of adults who say they enjoy superhero movies plunged five percentage points, from 64 percent to 59 percent.

                          At the same time, the number of adults who do not enjoy superhero movies increased 5 points, 36 percent to 41 percent. That number has increased 9 points since the survey was conducted in 2018.

                          Self-identified Marvel fans are still overwhelmingly dedicated to superhero movies at 82 percent, though that number is down five points from 87 percent in November. One-third (31 percent) of those fans say they are “getting a little tired of so many of them.” Notably, the number of Marvel fans who do not like superhero movies rose from 13 percent to 18 percent.

                          Morning Consult noted that the July survey was conducted after Marvel Studio President Kevin Feige announced at San Diego Comic-Con plans for phases five and six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The announcement included news of two more Avengers films slated for 2025. The survey was conducted July 30-31 with 2,200 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of ±2 percentage points.

                          “The news came amid a rare slump for the Walt Disney Co.-owned property: Many of Marvel Studios’ latest films, including “Thor: Love and Thunder,” have underwhelmed at the box office,” according to the report. “While the coronavirus pandemic and rise of streaming options have certainly been factors, the slump may stem in part from a tangible increase in superhero fatigue among moviegoers.”

                          In a late-July statement to the Wall Street Journal, a Walt Disney Co. spokesperson blamed recent lackluster box office results on the coronavirus pandemic. However, data shows that Americans were experiencing “superhero fatigue” before the pandemic, Morning Consult countered.
                          I have just the solution. Marvel should try making a Bananaman movie...

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                          • #14
                            There is just too many of the damned movies and TV shows. The movie studio bean counters clearly are trying to cash in as much as possible as soon as possible. But they're rapidly milking that tit completely dry.

                            Not only does it seem like the newer Marvel movies can be skipped (there doesn't appear to be any broad connection between the movies leading to something bigger), there's all the stuff on Disney+. In order to stay up on everything the "dedicated Marvel fan" must have a Disney+ subscription as well as be willing to shell out good money at the box office. Overall, it's just too much work, too much money and too much of a time suck.

                            I think the onslaught of so much subscription TV content in addition to the movies is just making it easier for viewers to get off the Marvel train. Besides, what kind of new ideas or material are they introducing? There is a feeling of stale same-ness growing over the enterprise.

                            Meanwhile I've heard quite a lot of good buzz about Prey, the prequel of sorts to Predator. The last time I looked it had a 92% score at Rotten Tomatoes. I haven't seen it (I don't have a Disney+ or Hulu subscription). A premiere of sorts was held here in Lawton almost a couple weeks ago for Comanche Nation tribe members. The movie was apparently the first to have a version fully dubbed in the Comanche language. Prey played on 4 screens at our AMC Patriot 13 theater, one of the screenings was the Comanche version. I don't know if that version includes English subtitles. Anyway, it's kind of surprising how good the movie seems to be. A few people I know have watched it and they said it was great. It's too bad Prey didn't get a theatrical release. Some other Predator and "AVP" sequels were released theatrically and with far lesser positive response from critics and viewers.

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                            • #15
                              Besides, what kind of new ideas or material are they introducing?
                              If you think about it, they've done everything already.

                              - Heroes in capes with varying superpowers
                              - Heroes in capes without superpowers but with unlimited money
                              - Heroes who are altered by some event such as being bitten by a spider
                              - Heroes who are from some other planet
                              - Heroes who are tiny
                              - Heroes who are ultra-huge
                              - Time traveling heroes
                              - Animated heroes
                              - Claymation heroes
                              - Non-human heroes
                              - Cartoon heroes (that are human)
                              - Heroes that are overly patriotic
                              - Heroes that are rebels and don't give a shit about anything
                              - Foul-mouthed heroes
                              - Heroes made out of water, rock, fire, and whatever else you can think of
                              - Heroes that (in any other world) would be considered evil
                              - The pets of the heroes
                              - Lego versions
                              - Weird "anime" type things (or whatever that "Spider-verse" movie was)
                              - Mash-ups of various combinations of the above
                              - Characters dying, only to be resurrected
                              - Origin stories for everyone (often more than one)
                              - Stories from the future and from the past
                              - Grumpy/sullen versions of heroes who used to be upbeat (and vice versa)

                              ... I mean, what else is there?

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