Even before the film came out, some people really wanted The Marvels to fail, and sadly, it looks like it will, in financial terms at least. But, while the haters revel in the disastrous box office takings, it seems the MCU has a new hero to call upon — Stephen King.
I hate to admit it, but it does appear the wheels are coming off for the MCU right now. Phase 5 has seen Ant-Man 3 and Secret Invasion get a critical hammering, and now The Marvels is taking a beating at the box office, too. Globally, the new movie debuted with a $68 million opening against a reported $247 million budget, and you don’t have to be an expert to realize that is not good news.
Stephen King may not be a regular reader of our Marvel movies in order guide, but he understands the failure of any film is not something to celebrate. King tweeted: “I don’t go to MCU movies, don’t care for them, but I find this barely masked gloating over the low box office for The Marvels very unpleasant. Why gloat over failure?”
I know Disney’s dominion over the cinematic landscape is not exactly conducive to a diverse and ‘fair’ system, but honestly, the rise of superhero movies has massively helped to keep the theatrical experience alive in recent years.
If the slate of upcoming Marvel movies wasn’t regularly replenished, sure, some independent films might get more of a chance, but we would also very likely see more and more theaters shut down, too. The truth is that the industry just cannot survive without blockbusters.
The vocal minority of ‘fans’ who are relishing in The Marvels box office difficulty aren’t really concerned with the future of cinema, though. In fact, we believe they only really have one motivation, and King has nailed it. In a follow-up tweet, he said: “Some of the rejection of The Marvels may be adolescent fanboy hate. You know, ‘Yuck! GIRLS!'”
Now, we’re really onto something. Without getting into the intricacies of the situation, some people really don’t like Brie Larson because she once (very correctly) suggested more women and people of color should have their voices heard when it comes to film criticism. I’m sure you can imagine the kind of person who took offense to such a suggestion, and since then, the actor and her Marvel character have fallen foul of a great amount of misogyny.
I’m all for immersing myself in the world of Marvel movies, but some people need to get a reality check and realize that being mean about The Marvels cast is not the hill to die on. We’re not saying that Stephen King is the ultimate barometer of whether a person is decent or not, but if he says something is wrong, who are we to disagree?
As you can tell from our The Marvels review, it’s a really fun movie, and it deserves far better treatment than it is getting right now. Hopefully, word of mouth can salvage some success down the line. Until then, let’s look at the positives and get excited about Deadpool 3 and Marvel’s Phase 6. And don’t forget about all the Marvels series out there, too, most of which are essential viewing in order to follow the big picture.