Box office returns for upcoming 2023 movies in general looks grim. The SAG-AFTRA strike has barred performers from promoting their material, therefore the studios are about to take some major hits for fall releases. This could to be the case with The Marvels, which is the latest MCU film heading to cinemas next month. Last week, early box office predictions expected a low $50-75 million opening weekend for the Brie Larson-led film, which for Marvel standards is pretty low. However, recent numbers are predicting a higher-than-anticipated opening, but this still probably won’t be a win for the studio.
According to Deadline, The Marvels‘ opening box office could make around $75M-$80M. While this is a higher number, things are still looking pretty grim. The SAG-AFTRA strike has barred performers from promoting their material, therefore the studios are about to take some major hits for fall releases. This seems to be the case with his isn’t nearly what Marvel was hoping for with their Captain Marvel sequel film. The predecessor scored a whopping $153 million opening weekend at the box office back in 2019, and the sequel is only looking to make about half of that.
Early reports about The Marvels returns were optimistic, as many fans named the female-driven action movie as one of the most anticipated on the fall movie slate. But these numbers don’t reflect that, especially considering the high budget associated with the film. This feels like the start of a bad trend for Marvel, which has been combatting a “superhero fatigue” felt by audiences. DC’s The Flash and Blue Beetle films also disappointed at the box office this summer, and Marvel’s Ant-Man: Quantumania also did not reach the financial heights normally achieved by the studio.
This could indicate an audience shift, especially when it comes to theater-going. While Marvel movies have led the yearly box office rankings in past years, the big winners for 2023 have been Barbie, Oppenheimer, and the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film, which was released without studio involvement. Even head honchos at Marvel have felt this shift, and have publicly expressed their desire to pivot and make major changes to how they are releasing their television content.
While this year’s winners indicate a desire for female-driven projects, it seems that not all of these projects may be created equal. A lack of promotion could be to blame, but this may be a sign that Marvel should look towards shifting its movie content as well. There are a number of upcoming superhero films on the release schedule for Marvel, Sony, and Warner Bros., so hopefully this trend isn’t repeated to avoid more big budget disappointments. Things may change for The Marvels tracking as we draw closer to the release date, so we will just have to wait and see if those coveted 2019 numbers are possible to replicate.
You can see The Marvels when it hits theaters nationwide on November 10th, and revisit the original Captain Marvel film now with a Disney+ subscription. For more information on other MCU projects coming down the pike, make sure to consult our feature on upcoming Marvel movies, including films planned for Phase 5 and Phase 6.