‘The Marvels’ Crashes To Earth With A Thursday Night Box Office Of Just $6.5 Million, Performs Even Worse Than ‘Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania’ And ‘The Flash’
Spencer Baculi
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In an outcome that all but the franchise’s most staunch defenders-slash-slop-consumers could have predicted, The Marvels is shaping up to be but the latest in the studio’s ongoing streak of financial misses, as the space-based sequel has been managed to pull in even less at the box office on its Thursday preview night than either Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania or their rival DC’s absolutely disastrous The Flash.
Per reports from both Deadline and Variety, the Brie Larson, Teyonnah Parris, and Iman Vellani-led team-up film managed to snag just $6.5 Million in ticket sales – Disney reports the number at the slightly higher total of $6.6 Million – in its preview-night premiere.
As such, The Marvels will officially enter the history books with the third lowest preview night performance of the entire MCU, its first place finish only being undercut by the first Ant-Man ($6.4 Million), whose success at the time was hampered by the hero’s relative obscurity in the public consciousness, and The Incredible Hulk ($2 Million), which premiered at a time when preview showings began at midnight on Friday nights rather than at the current standard of 3 PM on Thursday afternoons.
Additionally, the film will also take home the title of Marvel’s ‘Worst Performing Preview Night of 2023’, being left in the dust by the $17.5 Million Thursday night box offices enjoyed by both Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantmania and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3.
Yet, perhaps most damning of Marvel’s latest outing is the fact that its preview night box office failed to surpass even that of the aforementioned The Flash.
A more fair comparison point as both films were released amidst falling interest in super hero films, tracked preview nights starting at 3 PM, and were subject to massive scrutiny ahead of their premieres, The Flash – even with star Ezra Miller’s numerous crimes being well within the realm of public knowledge at the time – managed to nearly double The Marvels’ preview night box office, ending the night with a total of $9.7 Million.
Further, much to the chagrin of the Disney and Marvel marketing machines, this opening night disinterest cannot even remotely begin to be blamed on sexism.
According to polls conducted by audience measurement company ComScore following various screenings and obtained by Deadline, The Marvels’ initial viewership was made up of 63% men – 45% of which were over the age of 25 – and 24% women over 25.
And it is as a result of this underperformance, as noted by both trade outlets, that The Marvels‘ opening weekend projections have fallen yet again.
Whereas metrics just nine days prior had the film closing out its opening weekend with roughly $45-50 Million in ticket sales, the film is now tracking to end its first four days in theaters with just $40 Million instead.
The Marvels is now playing in theaters.
NEXT: ‘The Marvels’ Director Nia DaCosta Explains Why She Left The Film’s Production
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