At a time, when the term Superhero fatigue is getting more attention among fans, Marvel Studios executive shares one particular reason as to why the recent movies or shows from the studio have been unable to grab the audience’s eyeballs, at least per their standard.
The franchise, which has been known for giving sure-shot hits recently witnessed a rough phase at the box office. MCU recently released The Marvels, which turned into the lowest-grossing movie in the history of Marvel.
Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum, in an interview, cited the actual reason for this setback, and it’s concerning for fans.
Marvel Executive Addresses the Reason for MCU’s Recent Drastic Box Office Drop
The landscape of Marvel Studios underwent a significant transformation with the arrival of the Disney+ streaming platform in 2019, although the impact wasn’t immediately clear to fans. Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s head of streaming, television, and animation, shed light on these developments in a recent interview with the Phase Zero podcast.
“Frankly, in all honesty, there was a mandate to kind of create as much as we could for Disney+, as quickly as we could.”
“And then there was a shift,” Winderbaum continued.
“And all of a sudden, we have to start spreading our release dates out. So, that really accounts for a lot of the delays. Now, we’re using that time. We’re not sitting idle. So, it’s like it stays in the oven. You can bake certain things a little more. It’s actually, I think, ultimately, it’s only going to make things better. But, most of it is just frankly shrapnel from the business.”
This shift in strategy reflects broader changes within the entertainment industry. Even Marvel, known for its meticulous planning and execution, has had to adapt.
“We’re more like a traditional studio now. We’re developing more than we actually will produce,” Winderbaum continued.
Creating a mess at the box office, MCU’s three superhero films of 2023 collected around $1.52B worldwide.
What Could be the Reason for this Decline?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been a box office hit for over a decade. But the MCU has faced its fair share of criticism recently, with recent releases like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumnia and The Marvels. Both films did not live up to expectations and proved to be disappointing at the box office.
While the reasons for their lackluster performance can be debated – franchise saturation, formula fatigue– their box office stumbles certainly cast a shadow over the immediate future of the MCU. Since 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, no MCU movies could touch the one-billion mark, which is definitely alarming for the studio.
There might be various reasons for this drop, including superhero fatigue, the absence of the Avengers, poor marketing strategy, or maybe the lack of a solid overarching plot. But for whatever reason, the studio needs to find some tricks to bring back their magic in order to survive in the ever-expanding market.
This year’s only theatrical Marvel Studios release is Deadpool & Wolverine, which will arrive in cinemas on July 26, 2024, and fans are hopeful that this film will bring fortune.
