Stephen King Weighs in on the Lackluster Box Office Performance of The Marvels

Renowned author and avid "Mambo No. 5" supporter, Stephen King, has shared his thoughts on The Marvels' recent challenges at the box office. He suggested that the underwhelming opening-weekend figures could be attributed, at least partially, to a form of disdain from immature fanatics.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), King revealed his personal disinterest in watching Marvel movies and his general disapproval of them. However, he expressed great discomfort with the seemingly veiled satisfaction displayed by certain individuals regarding The Marvels' lackluster box office performance. King pondered the need for celebrating another's failure, deeming it quite distasteful in nature.

King speculates that certain criticisms towards The Marvels may stem from "adolescent fanboy hate." He suggests that some reactions may be dismissive simply due to the film's focus on a female-led cast, which includes Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, Teyonath Parris, and Zawe Ashton. Additionally, Nia DaCosta, a woman, directed the movie.

Disney and Marvel were aware of The Marvels' precarious situation prior to its release in theaters on November 10, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The film generated a meager $46 million during its opening weekend in the US, marking the lowest ever performance for the MCU in over a decade. To put it into perspective, its predecessor, Captain Marvel, amassed $153 million during its opening weekend in 2019, prior to the advent of the global pandemic.

Coincidentally, The Marvels faced additional hindrances as the SAG-AFTRA strike concluded just a day before its release, preventing the stars from promoting the movie as they typically would. While critics generally expressed positive sentiments towards The Marvels, its audience score, as assessed by CinemaScore, equaled the lowest in MCU history, alongside Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

The Marvels review on our website has given the film a rating of 7/10, describing it as "enjoyable but lacking depth."

Speculations have also arisen regarding the potential influence of the perceived "superhero fatigue" on The Marvels' box office performance. Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged that the abundance of Marvel content may have compromised its overall quality. Marvel's schedule for 2024 reveals the release of only one film—Deadpool 3.

Editor's P/S

As a Gen Z netizen, I have mixed feelings about Stephen King's comments on The Marvels' box office performance. On the one hand, I understand his point of view. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been going on for over a decade, and it's possible that some fans are starting to feel fatigued by the constant stream of superhero movies. Additionally, The Marvels is the second female-led MCU film, and it's possible that some fans are not interested in seeing a movie that focuses on female characters.

On the other hand, I think it's important to remember that The Marvels is just one movie, and it's not fair to blame its box office performance on any one factor. There are a number of reasons why a movie might not do well at the box office, including competition from other movies, poor marketing, or simply a lack of interest from audiences.

Overall, I think it's too early to say definitively why The Marvels didn't do well at the box office. However, I do think it's important to have a conversation about the role of gender in the MCU and whether or not audiences are starting to feel fatigued by superhero movies.