It seems like superhero movies are on the verge of decline, especially after Marvel and DC faced a drastic 43% drop as per 2023 box office records. Releasing superhero flicks with great expectations, both franchises suffered a terrible fate at the global box office.
MCU recently released The Marvels, which turned into the lowest-grossing movie in the history of Marvel. Further, even DC dropped back-to-back flops that made the superhero franchise secure an embarrassing record in 2023. Certainly, the massive drop seems like a reason for concern.
Also read: After 2 Huge Box Office Disasters, Spider-Man 2 Becomes the Saviour of Marvel Franchise in 2023
MCU’s Worst Box Office Record of 2023
There was a time during the early 2000s when Marvel Studios was conservative about its superhero flicks. Wondering about how the movies would perform at the box office, MCU often edited and restructured their films. However, gradually, fans began embracing the movies and the franchise witnessed a major success.
Releasing back-to-back Avengers films and standalone superhero flicks, MCU began earning billions. But something changed after 2019, when Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man sacrificed himself in Avengers: Endgame. Thereafter, MCU began facing a downfall and 2023 became a testimony that their superheroes need a booster pack urgently.
Releasing their lowest-earning MCU film – The Marvels, the franchise marked an embarrassing record with back-to-back flops. Although they witnessed success with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, MCU overall suffered a grave situation at the box office. Struggling with their comic book adaptations, the superhero films, not just Marvel Studios but also DC suffered significantly.
Marvel and DC Secured an Embarrassing Record
Following MCU’s downfall, even DCEU met with an embarrassing fate at the box office. Initially marking their drop in fanbase with Ezra Miller‘s The Flash, DC went on to release their lowest-grossing movie Blue Beetle, in 2023. Earning $129.28M worldwide, the DC film earned significantly less than MCU’s lowest grossing The Marvels ($197M) via Variety.
Fans’ declining love and eagerness for superhero films affected both the superhero franchises, miserably. Creating a mess at the box office, MCU’s three superhero films of 2023 collected around $1.52B worldwide. Whereas, DC released four superhero films that failed to cross even $1B worldwide, creating a disappointment for superhero fans.
Last year, in 2022, three MCU movies (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – $859.20M, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – $955.77M, Thor: Love and Thunder – $760.92M) and two DC films (Black Adam – $393.35 M, The Batman – $772.24M) witnessed a significant 76% surge in box office collection making $3.7B in total.
In 2023, the superhero franchises met a 43% drop, as three MCU films (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – $845.55M, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – $476.07M, The Marvels – $204.99M) and the four DC films (The Flash – $270.63M, Blue Beetle – $129.28M, Shazam! Fury of the Gods – $133.83M, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – $80M) simply collected $2.1B in total.
This certainly proves that Marvel and DC need to bring back their magic in order to survive in the ever-expanding market.
