Marvel Studios’ upcoming film “The Marvels” is already facing bleak predictions at the box office. According to the latest projections, the movie is expected to gross between $50 million and $75 million in its domestic opening weekend, falling far below initial estimates and making it one of the lowest-performing films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Box Office Pro, a leading source for industry projections, released its new estimates for “The Marvels”, and they are significantly lower than their initial predictions for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which made $106.1 million in its opening weekend. The new projections suggest that The Marvels will not even come close to that number and could claim the spot for the worst opening weekend in the MCU’s history.
The low expectations also extend to the film’s entire domestic run, with Box Office Pro predicting a total gross of $121 million to $189 million. These numbers are far lower than the initial projections for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which were estimated to gross between $249 million and $347 million domestically.
These disappointing projections are compounded by the fact that “The Marvels” is reportedly one of the most expensive films to produce in the MCU. While Forbes initially reported a production budget of $274 million, industry analyst Valliant Renegade predicts it could be even higher at $300 million or more. With these high production costs, the movie will need to gross at least $439.6 million to break even.
If the low box office predictions from Box Office Pro hold true, “The Marvels” is poised to be yet another box office loser for The Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, Marvel Studios, and Kevin Feige. A $75 million opening weekend would put it below Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the sixth worst-performing movie in MCU history, without accounting for inflation.
Long Range Box Office Forecast: @MarvelStudios ’ THE MARVELS. Read the full forecast: https://t.co/uq2sTZqGSR #TheMarvels #Marvel #Disney #BoxOffice pic.twitter.com/dQcD0ZDcbE
— Boxoffice Pro (@BoxOffice) October 12, 2023
Looking at the total domestic projections, if “The Marvels” makes the low end of its estimated range at $121 million, it would be the lowest-performing MCU film domestically. Even when accounting for inflation, the only film it would outperform is Eternals, which made $164.8 million in 2021 and equates to $187.2 million in 2023.
In short, the box office prospects for “The Marvels” are not looking good. Fans and industry experts alike are questioning the future of the MCU as it faces diminishing returns and struggles to generate excitement for its upcoming releases. “The Marvels” is set to premiere in November 2022, and only time will tell if it can overcome these dismal projections.