There are some folks utterly shocked by THR’s box-office forecasting of “The Marvels.” Pamela Mcclintock’s writeup suggests that “superhero fatigue” will lead the latest MCU movie to a $75-$80 million domestic opening.
Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if the opening numbers are actually much lower than that. Ticket presales for “The Marvels” have not been going well and last week’s projected numbers hinted at something closer to a $55-$70 million weekend.
The original “Captain Marvel” opened with $153 million. This one stars three female leads, including fan favorite Brie Larson, and is being directed by Nia DaCosta — curiously enough, both of these ladies recently hinted that they would be leaving the MCU.
Most MCU movies open with around $100 million, but it looks like “The Marvels” will be an exception. “The Marvels” has a large budget of $273 million.
This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 33rd feature film. DaCosta is one of four credited writers on the screenplay, along with Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik, and Zeb Wells. You almost never get a single person writing the screenplay for an MCU movie.
When the trailer came out in early summer, there was fanboy backlash. A lot of hate was thrown at this movie. Rolling Stone, of course, claimed the backlash was due to the “misogynist side of Marvel fandom.”
ScreenRant’s insane theory that bots were hired by the misogynists to rally up the dislikes was definitely out there. Ditto Jezebel’s belief that “sexist Marvel fans” were responsible for over half a million dislikes on YouTube.
It’s as if some can’t fathom that maybe, just maybe, the trailer was underwhelming? That maybe, just maybe, people are getting sick and tired of these mass-marketed superhero movies. All of these journalists are right on cue, going to bat for Disney by screaming “MISOGYNY!” when the real problem is more nuanced.
“The Marvels” will be in theaters on Nov 10.