Disney normally finds itself at the top of the box office rankings, thanks to its ownership of well-known franchises like Marvel and Star Wars, but last year was an exception. Recently, Deadline claimed that Disney was involved in four of the top five box office bombs of 2023. The company had numerous setbacks that caused its fortunes to plummet. However, The Marvels was one of the most surprising misfires.
Who could have predicted that Brie Larson’s last MCU outing would end in a financial letdown, causing more of a tremor than even the DCEU’s The Flash?
Yes, you read that right. As unbelievable as it may seem, Nia DaCosta’s flick endured a staggering net loss of $237 million, outdoing the Ezra Miller starrer. Speaking about the latter, it even sprinted away from the spotlight with a $155 million shortfall.
The Marvels vs. The Flash: A Deep Dive into the Financial Fallout of 2023’s Biggest Box Office Busts
Although we are already in the fifth month of 2024, information regarding the box office for 2023 is still being updated, and some fascinating facts have been discovered! According to a recent report from Deadline, Disney surprisingly owns four of the top five box office failures from the previous year; and we’ll discuss the financial failures of The Marvels & The Flash.
Captain Marvel brought in over $1 billion in revenue in 2019 (Box Office Mozo), and Carol Danvers was reunited with WandaVision‘s Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Ms. Marvel’s character in the follow-up. Though it was anticipated that the sequel (The Marvel) would earn as much as its predecessor, which took in $1.1 billion worldwide, the movie ended up being an epic failure, taking in only $206 million (Box Office Mojo).
Deadline has since done some math and discovered that we were underestimating The Marvels’ $206.1 million worldwide box office haul. Indeed, with a staggering net loss of $237 million, Brie Larson’s last MCU flick has fans dumbfounded.
In contrast, The Flash, who went into the box office with high hopes, was unable to ride the hype and ended up becoming one of the biggest box office bombs in the superhero genre. Despite having a $200–220 million budget, it was a box office bomb, making $271.3 million worldwide (Box Office Mozo).
Variety reported last year that The Flash saw a staggering 73% decline in box office receipts, surpassing the total number of previous DCEU flicks released to date. And per Deadline’s analysis, Ezra Miller’s film comes in at a mere $155 million net loss.
While still a significant hit to the studio’s bottom line, it still pales in comparison to the financial catastrophe that is The Marvels. This means that the latter has lost $82 million more than The Flash.
Teyonah Parris Weighed in on The Marvels’ Box Office Performance
For those who have already checked The Marvels off their watch list, Teyonah Parris has a message for them. The 36-year-old actress, who donned the role of Monica Rambeau in WandaVision and The Marvels, told PEOPLE last month:
“I haven’t actually done a full press run where I get to engage one-on-one, in person, face-to-face with fans. I wanted to be a part of that and feel that.”
While some Marvel fans are often excited about the upcoming flicks, others worry about superhero fatigue, particularly in light of The Marvels becoming the biggest box office failure. Parris, thus, was questioned about the vitriol directed towards the project and her personal emotions during production:
“I think there was a lot of talk, and people hadn’t seen it. So that’s frustrating, when people comment on things they haven’t actually experienced. There’s a lot of people who put a lot of their time, spirit and talent into bringing this forward.”
Additionally, the actress asked the audience to watch the film and “give it a fair shot”, adding:
“If you don’t like the first 10, 15 minutes, fair enough. Your time is precious. But we make these films so that it can be an escape from your real world in a moment for levity and joy and fantasticalness.”
“Unfortunately”, according to Parris, she is not aware of any details regarding Monica’s return to the franchise. However, if her tale goes on, the actress hopes to go back to the “heart” of storytelling.
The Marvels is streaming on Disney+, while The Flash is available on Amazon Prime Video.
