Highlights
- The Marvels broke the record for the worst opening weekend in MCU history, making it the lowest-grossing film in the franchise.
- Blue Beetle, a DC film, also struggled financially despite being highly anticipated and introducing a new character for the DCU slate.
- The SAG-AFTRA strike significantly impacted the box office numbers of various films, as actors were unable to participate in marketing and press tours.
The most talked about film of 2023 is easily Marvel’s The Marvels due to its box office failure. The Marvels is the follow-up to Brie Larson’s successful Captain Marvel, which debuted in 2019. Unfortunately, The Marvels broke the The Incredible Hulk record for experiencing the worst opening weekend in MCU history. There are numerous factors that contributed to the low numbers for The Marvels, which also affected numerous other films that were recently released in theaters.
After the wild success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, studios weren’t expecting their autumn releases to see dismal returns. The biggest box office influence was the SAG-AFTRA strike which lasted for 118 days and changed many aspects of the movie-making process. Many productions saw releases delayed into the following year if not canceled. While audiences and studios expect big numbers from superhero flicks, especially MCU ones, other anticipated successes subverted expectations.
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The Marvels Wasn’t the Only Financial Failure
|
Film |
Budget |
Box Office |
Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Marvels |
$220,000,000 |
$202,229,615 |
November 10, 2023 |
|
Wish |
$200,000,000 |
$106,112,994 |
November 22, 2023 |
|
Killers of the Flower Moon |
$200,000,000 |
$155,520,174 |
October 20, 2023 |
|
Blue Beetle |
$104,000,000 |
$129,288,072 |
August 18, 2023 |
|
Expendables 4 |
$100,000,000 |
$37,942,723 |
September 22, 2023 |
|
The Creator |
$80,000,000 |
$104,248,145 |
September 29, 2023 |
When it comes to a Marvel film set in the MCU, there is a certain standard audiences expect, one of which is making its budget back along with a massive profit. There have been some bombs, but they still make their money back. The Marvels wasn’t as lucky as previous MCU installments. It came close to recouping its budget but didn’t quite make it, breaking new records as the MCU’s lowest-grossing film. However, The Marvels wasn’t the only movie to struggle in the box office.
DC saw similar struggles with Blue Beetle, which technically introduced the first character for the new DCU slate of films. While it did make its money back, its profits didn’t go far enough for the studio to consider it a financial success. There’s a certain threshold films have to make before studios consider them successful and 25 million over budget doesn’t quite meet the requirement. For a character as highly anticipated as Blue Beetle, calling his big screen debut underwhelming is an understatement.
Then there’s the highly anticipated Killers of the Flower Moon, a Martin Scorsese flick that didn’t come close to making a profit. By all accounts, it did financially worse than The Marvels yet receives considerably more praise than the female-led superhero movie. It’s disingenuous to say that The Marvels failed. There are a number of factors that influenced the box office numbers of all the movies listed. The most notable factor is the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The SAG-AFTRA Strikes Stopped Promotion
The SAG_AFTRA strike was a necessary action for the actors, but there’s always an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, many productions either saw a delay or their box office numbers suffered. The strike lasted from July 14, 2023, to November 9, 2023. For 118 days, actors were precluded from participating in any marketing for their films. Stars of their movies couldn’t even encourage their fans to go see the movies they worked so hard on. Social media influencers stood with actors in solidarity and refrained from promoting any upcoming projects.
The stars were also absent from the international press tour for their films, which went ahead throughout the SAG-AFTRA strike. The press tour is a great opportunity for actors to answer questions in interviews and show off chemistry with their co-stars. It’s an overlooked aspect by most of the public that heavily influences their decision to see a movie. Without certain press junkets, most films would see similar numbers as those that were released at the height of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
However, not all movies struggled as much as others.
Some Movies Succeeded Despite the Strike
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem premiered August 2, 2023, a month before the strike saw an end, and earned a total of $180,513,586. Keeping the budget low at $70 million was a smart move by the producers as it protected the film from the side effects of the SAG-AFTRA strike. That wasn’t intentional, but it worked and is possibly the way many movies, especially superhero flicks, should go down the line.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is another notable success that occurred amidst the strike. The video game adaptation sat at the top of the box office for a couple of weeks, outperforming the likes of Killers of the Flower Moon and Priscilla. Contributing to its massive profit was its considerably lower budget of $20 million, which was lower than Mutant Mayhem’s. By the end of its theater outing, Five Nights at Freddy’s grossed over $288 million. Clearly, it’s possible to make successful films that achieve critical acclaim on smaller budgets.
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