Marvel Studios is taking stock of their strategy following the poor performance of 'The Marvels'. Over the weekend, 'The Marvels' debuted to $46.1 million in North America, marking the worst opening in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and causing a moment of reckoning for Marvel Studios. Plus, the film received a B Cinemascore.
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00:00 Marvel Studios is taking stock of their strategy following the poor performance of the Marvels.
00:05 Over the weekend, the Marvels debuted to $46.1 million in North America, marking the worst
00:10 opening in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and causing a moment of reckoning
00:14 for Marvel Studios.
00:15 Plus, the film received a B CinemaScore.
00:18 But this isn't the first warning sign that something's been amiss within Marvel in terms
00:21 of quality control, as Kevin Feige's team has been in overdrive producing shows for
00:26 streaming.
00:27 The Return of the Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania also received B CinemaScores,
00:31 while audiences began complaining about keeping up with an increasing number of shows on Disney
00:35 Plus to understand the overarching MCU story.
00:39 Behind the scenes, Marvel Studios and Disney were well aware the Marvels was in trouble
00:42 before it hit the big screen.
00:44 Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter there was also a recognition that Feige and his
00:47 team needed time to take stock of their theatrical tentpoles.
00:51 On November 8, Bob Iger said on an earnings call that Disney's movie empire has "lost
00:55 focus" because of an emphasis on quantity over quality in the rush to feed Disney Plus
01:00 under the Bob J. Peck regime, though it was Iger himself who initiated this push before
01:04 J. Peck's reign.
01:05 Sources say Feige and his team felt this mandate keenly to the detriment of Marvel's movies.
01:10 The next day, Marvel and Disney revealed they were scaling back the number of superhero
01:13 films they will release in 2024 from three to just one.
01:17 Sources say that while the SAG Afterstrike is certainly part of the reason for some of
01:20 the date changes, it wasn't the only one.
01:23 Deadpool 3 will be Marvel and Disney's sole superhero offering in 2024 and will now open
01:27 on July 26 instead of May 3.
01:30 Captain America New World Order, which was previously set to hit theaters on July 26,
01:34 has been delayed nine months to February 14, 2025.
01:37 And the anti-hero-centric movie Thunderbolts has been moved from December 20, 2024 to July
01:43 25, 2025.
01:44 For much more on this story, go to THR.com.
01:47 This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
01:48 (whooshing)
01:51 (upbeat music)