Has the Marvel Bubble Finally Burst?

 As the recovery of the theatrical industry appears to hinge more and more on tentpoles and their crowd-drawing capabilities, it seems a notable case of Marvel fatigue may have set in. Churning through three Disney Marvel releases in just over 4 months, alongside Sony’s hit Venom 2, may just have been a little too much for viewers to take. Blake & Wang’s Brandon Blake dives into the numbers for us.

Has the Marvel Bubble Finally Burst?
                                                               Brandon Blake

 Eternals makes a poor showing

With a domestic opening gross of just $71M for Eternals, and a 10% drop near immediately, it seems the latest installment in the Marvel IP family has failed to please. This isn’t on the theatrical exhibition recovery, however, but rather far too much Marvel in too little time. 

 

Unfortunately, it impacts box office momentum at a time when the theaters don’t really need the hit, while theatrical windows remain fluid and studios are unwilling to commit. And, of course, we won’t see Disney shoulder the blame for the overall poor showing, they will be keen to find a suitable scapegoat. 

 

With theaters more-or-less dependent on a few key franchises at the moment, it’s a definite stumbling block to momentum. Yet there’s plenty of fare out there that should shore up November’s figures enough to not prove a huge setback.

Franchise or film?

It’s tempting to assign all the blame to Eternals itself. It’s not a particularly attractive installment- social media controversy, limited interest from core fans, and a B Cinemascore is about the worst Marvel performance we’ve seen- ever. If Disney were hoping for a recap of Shang Chi’s unexpected success, it’s not coming from this film.

 

Yet it may be time to face facts. Even the most loyal fan has limited, and the punishing rate at which Disney is churning out Marvel film after Marvel film may well be pushing them too hard. Nostalgia and fandom can put people in seats, but that pull is not as limitless as Hollywood seems to be banking on of late. It may well be time to let the Marvel Universe regain some novelty on the back burner, and focus attention on something with more novelty. This entertainment attorney would like to see films venture into fresher territory for a while. Does Disney agree? Only time can tell.

 

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