Summary
The Marvels' Thursday preview ticket sales are in, and they are not pretty, affirming previous reports that the film is headed for a rough opening weekend.
The Marvels' predecessor,Captain Marvel, performed fantastically at the box office, bringing in over $1.1 billion worldwide with a $153 million opening weekend in the US. However, that was in 2019, when Marvel Studios was still riding the massive wave started byThe Avengersfilms. While the MCU is certainly still a healthy franchise, it has taken some hits since Captain America and Co. took the world by storm, andCaptain Marvel 2is the latest to experience this.
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PerDeadline,The Marvelsmanaged to earn only $6.6 million in Thursday preview ticket sales. This is one of the worst-performing preview days seen from an MCU movie in recent times. $6.6 million comes in at lower than other misfires from the franchise,such asThe EternalsandThor: Dark World, which previewed at $9.5 million and $7.1 million, respectively, and were released in November. The new film beat outAnt-Man’s low preview sales of $6.4 million, but barely.
Previous reports indicated thatThe Marvelswas headed for rough watersat the box office. This was forecast for multiple reasons, including reports of troublesome reshoots, poor test screening responses, the recent SAG-AFTRA strike, and inconsistent marketing. It was worried that ifThe Marvels' preview ticket sales fell to $6 million, it could see an opening weekend of only $40 million. Now that the preview sales are confirmed at $6.6 million, only time will tell if that dire prediction comes true this weekend.
Marvel Studios made some telling decisions in the lead-up to this week’s release ofThe Marvels. In a departure from previous marketing,The Marvels' final trailerfeatured clips of Iron Man and Captain America cut from previousAvengersmovies. With the two characters not being involved inThe Marvels, some fans thought it seemed like a desperate grab to sway old MCU fanatics into seeing the movie. The strategy doesn’t seem to have had much effect.
Following the box office success ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the MCU still has plenty of fans willing to buy tickets and propel new releases to the top of the box office. Although it appears that won’t happen withThe Marvels, MCU fans still have plenty of reason to be optimistic about the beloved franchise. A weak box office result withThe Marvelsmay encourage Marvel Studios to get even more creative with future projects.
The Marvelsis now playing in theaters.
The Marvels
Carol Danvers teams up with Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan in The Marvels. As the three heroes find their powers entangled, they must work together to stop Dar-Benn from enacting her evil plan.
