Marvel’s peak of popularity in theaters came to an end a few years ago. After the narrative peak of the cinematic universe built by the studio in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019), public interest seems to have diminished — with rare successful exceptions, such as ‘Spider-Man: No Return Home’ (2021).
Last year, for example, was marked by two major box office failures. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, which had an estimated budget of US$326.6 million, grossed US$476.1 million at the box office, while ‘The Marvels’ earned US$206 million for an estimated cost of US$ 274.8 million.
It is worth remembering that the amounts spent on advertising are not always included in the budget calculation. Furthermore, the studio does not receive the full amount from tickets.
Marvel’s deputy president, Louis D’Esposito, however, said he saw positive points amid the catastrophic scenario — which still includes the lukewarm public and critical reception in relation to the studio’s series made for streaming.
“If we stayed on top all the time, that would be the worst thing that could happen to us. We’ve been hit and we’ll come back stronger,” he declared in an interview with Empire magazine.
To achieve this, executives decided to slow down the insane release schedule. “Maybe when we do too much, we end up diluting ourselves. We won’t do that anymore. We’ve learned our lesson. Maybe two or three movies a year and one or two series, instead of doing four movies and four series,” D’Esposito explained.
In 2024, the studio’s big bet will be ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, a film that brings Hugh Jackman back to his best-known role. The film also marks the debut of the X-Men in the MCU, as mutants previously only appeared in projects led by Fox.
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel, highlighted that expectations are high for the production, whose mission is to save the studio’s year. “It’s good to be able to dedicate myself to just one project this year. I feel much more comfortable being the underdog. I prefer surprise, exceeding expectations. It seems that last year, which was not ideal, led us to this scenario”, he declared .
Shawn Levy, the film’s director, added: “You’d have to be living on another planet not to know that the last few Marvel films have failed to capture attention in the same way that many others have. We’ve come together at an interesting time and are doing something different Whether this will have gigantic proportions, time will tell.”
Check out the trailer for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ below.
Tags: box office fiascoes changed Marvels plans put Deadpool Wolverine pressure studio chief Films
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