Latest Box Office Superhero Fatigue: ‘The Marvels’ Tracking for $75M-$80M Domestic Debut

Female-fronted The Marvels is tracking to test the next wave of movie office superhero weariness with an opening in the $75 million to $80 million range. It debuts on November 10.

A sequel to the 2019 film Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson, which had an unadjusted North American opening weekend gross of $153.4 million, is the 33rd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Depending on the research firm, tracking for The Marvels can range from $72 million to $88 million to $80 million to $90 million, according to NRG and The Quorum, respectively.

The superhero movie stands out because it has three strong female leads. Additionally, it was directed by Nia DaCosta, the first Black woman and youngest director of a Marvel Studios movie.

Ant-Man (2015) ($57.2 million) was the last Marvel Studios film whose domestic debut wasn’t at least $70 million. 25 MCU films have opened to $100 million or more in domestic ticket sales, with eight films grossing $150 million or more.

Due to the ongoing actors’ strike and the ensuing ban on performers participating in any promotional activities, there is more pressure on exhibitors for The Marvels to perform well after Dune: Part II postponed its scheduled release date of Nov. 2. Though they had anticipated the strike would finish in time for the cast to do press, Marvel Studios and Disney chose to retain The Marvels on its scheduled release date.

Superhero fatigue is another ongoing concern. DC has been most struck, as evidenced by The Flash’s disastrous summer run following a $55 million domestic debut. The third volume of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was a notable exception to any drowsiness. The third sequel had a $106 million domestic opening and amassed $845.6 million in worldwide box office receipts, trailing only the second movie ($863.7 million).

Iman Vellani, the breakout star of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, and Teyonah Parris, who plays the adult Monica Rambeau from Captain Marvel, also appear with Larson in the new film. With WandaVision, which included The Marvels author Megan McDonnell among its writers, the actor made her Marvel debut.

As was hinted at in the season finale of Ms. Marvel last year, the heroes in The Marvels are connected in a somewhat awkward way: whenever one of them utilises their powers, they trade locations with one another.

The Marvels also stars Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, and Saagar Shaikh.