The Marvel Cinematic Universe has captivated a huge fan base with its groovy tunes, designer costumes, and stupefying VFX. Starting with ‘Iron Man‘ in 2008, the MCU expanded its characters by introducing the Avengers based on the comics.
Sadly, after the exit of the original six Avengers, the MCU started hitting a low point. The plotlines became tasteless, the characters did not live up to the standards, and everything just kept disappointing fans. Here are the reasons why the MCU is failing at the box office.
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7. Evolving Audience Demographics And Preferences
Since the beginning, Marvel featured white, well-built actors in the lead and the female characters in extremely body-hugging costumes. All of it was well received at the beginning of time. Now awareness of the body positively and the acceptance of the different ethnic groups have spread all over, especially among the millennials, resulting in Marvel adapting to the change.
Sadly, despite the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters like America Chavez or the addition of ethnic minority characters like Kamala Khan, Marvel did not succeed in pleasing its crowd. Somewhere the addition of these characters felt abrupt and did not live up to the hype.
6. Economic Factors
Apart from premature story development and bland characters, COVID-19 played a huge role in tanking Marvel’s box office success. Not only were movie productions halted, but theatres worldwide were shut down. Disney intended ‘Black Widow’s hybrid release to give audiences a chance to stay home instead it resulted in a dull box office collection. Similarly ‘Thor: Love and Thunder‘ and ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ faced troubled and rushed productions due to pandemic restrictions.
The cast of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ had to quarantine for two weeks before they could shoot their cameos in ‘Love and Thunder’, and this obstacle translated to lifeless and superficial performances onscreen.
Not only were performances affected, but a backlog of VFX work caused by the pandemic made for uneven special effects in both pictures. When the pandemic was lifted, Hollywood faced yet another obstacle – the SAG-AFTRA strike which delayed production, incurring huge losses. A number of Marvel series and films were lined up but had to be pushed back, breaking the flow and the connectivity.
5. Critical Reception
The critical response is the worst nightmare for any production, as it might take a hit or miss at the box office. However, MCU has faced criticism for the similarity in the style of its films with critics saying that it is overly homogenous. The franchise is also targeted for its business practices regarding comic book creators. One of the creators of the character America Chavez, Joe Casey stated that there were “systemic flaws in the way that creators are neither respected nor rewarded,” pointing in particular to the use of Chavez in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, for which he received no compensation.
The franchise has also faced criticism for a large amount of releases, with some critics arguing that it has put itself at risk of oversaturation. The MCU has faced some criticism for its portrayal of women, particularly the lack of female characters in the lead in the first three phases of the franchise.
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4. Quality And Originality Of Latest Marvel Releases
MCU has taken a huge dip in its quality and originality. During its initial years, Marvel received praise for its inventive visual effects, and impressive action scenes until recently. The ‘Avengers: Endgame’ battle sequence was such a treat to the eyes. The entertainment company came under fire from numerous critics and a huge fan base for neglecting character development and storytelling.
Especially with Marvel’s growing reliance on CGI is one of the central problems that its quality is deteriorating. It is also known to produce numerous films and TV shows in a disturbingly short span of time contributing to a lack of detailed writing, underdeveloped characters, and an awful lot of plot holes.
3. Competition And Market Changes
The increase in the OTT release has damaged the box office in a way no one expected. It is a tough competition between the box office and the OTT platform as people prefer to subscribe over just a one-time watch. Although the Disney-Marvel partnership might be a successful one, it’s tanking the box office.
Also after ‘Avengers: Endgame’, none of the Marvel releases carries a huge star cast, resulting in negative interest amongst the fans. Hence movies like ‘Ant-Man’ or ‘The Marvels’ did not get treated well at the box office.
2. Previous Successes Set The Bar Way Too High
Marvel films before Phase Four set up very high standards that now it is impossible to live up to those expectations. Also, Phase One accurately connected the films and the birth of the Avengers, but the subsequent release after that, especially during the Multiverse saga feels disconnected from Marvel’s central agenda. Also, Marvel films no longer have a stellar star cast that hyped up the MCU or got the fans excited to relish it.
The popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is credited to Robert Downey Jr, who immediately rose to prominence in the franchise as a tormented genius because of his humorous and touching portrayal of Iron Man.
Ever since the MCU brought the decade-spanning Infinity Saga to an end, it began to lose the interest of its audience and retain the old fans. Marvel is considering bringing characters back whose stories reached a satisfying conclusion, the concept surrounding the Multiverse Saga is comparatively dull and apathetic.
1. Superhero Fatigue
Despite the handful of successes it had, 2023 has largely been a bad year for Marvel. The superhero fatigue already started with Disney+ originals but now it just feels suffocating. The painful box office performance of ‘The Marvels’ is a sign that the superhero fatigue has gotten to people and the MCU, and even the DCU are going to approach recovering from the historic downturn in its popularity.
Especially with the addition of Marvel’s Disney+ originals, there seemed never to be a break from superhero projects. When it was just movies, viewers had breathing room to process and enough time would pass to build up momentum for the next film and group of characters. Also, it was easy to keep track of the characters and now it just feels that every other day a new character is born.
But Marvel has recognized this concern as they have now started to slow down development on announcing new projects and are now focused on the projects already announced. It was also because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the writer’s strike.
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