‘The Marvels’ Historically Bombs At Box Office Despite Taking Over Las Vegas Sphere

Marvel Studios

The Marvels, the latest release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, made just over $45 million in its opening weekend, which marks a new low for an MCU film. For comparison, the widely-panned DC release The Flash made $55 million in its opening weekend.

The film, which stars Academy Award winner Brie Larson, is a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, which grossed over $1 billion at the box office during its theatrical run.

The performance of The Marvels speaks to a number of issues with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the main one being the attrition of a brand that used to be synonymous with “can’t miss events”.

There was also the fact that the movie was released during the actors’ strike, therefore preventing Larson and the rest of the film’s stars from promoting the movie.

Due to this, Marvel had to find creative ways to promote the project, such as buying ad space on the Las Vegas Sphere during the days surrounding the film’s release.

Perhaps as a result of a year that saw the studio lose much of the sheen that it spent the previous decade acquiring, Marvel Studios recently reshuffled its entire theatrical schedule, and as a result, will release just one movie in 2024: Deadpool 3.

Captain America: Brave New World, for example, was not only delayed to 2024 but will reportedly undergo months of reshoots. Blade, which has been stuck in development for years now, was also bumped to 2025, as was the villain-led team-up movie Thunderbolts.