The Marvels holds the unfortunate honor of being the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)‘s lowest box office earner of all time, but there were a lot of reasons why this happened. In 2023, The Marvels debuted in theaters, and despite a majority of favorable reviews, the film is by far Marvel’s biggest flop.

Coming from the success of the original Captain Marvel, which earned a little over $1.1 billion in 2019, The Marvels earned nearly a billion less at just $199 million (via The Numbers).

However, there are several reasons why this drop-off occurred and it comes down to a lot more than negativity towards Brie Larson and possible review bombing during the initial release. The Marvels was a weaker entry in the MCU, along with some other factors that caused this to be one of Marvel’s most disappointing failures.

The Marvels Suffered From A Weak Villain And Other Story Problems

The Marvels Movie Proved To Be A Less Than Spectacular Entry In The MCU

No doubt about it, there were parts of The Marvels that were just weaker than other points in the MCU. For one, the villain, Dar-Benn, played by the lovely Zawe Ashton, was an awkward, uncharismatic, and odd choice as a villain.

This is potentially one of the biggest problems with the movie, and one that appeared frequently in reviews of the movie after release. But on top of that, the movie also seemed confused in general. It was supposed to work as a sequel to the previous movie and two other Marvel shows, which meant there were three main stars.

However, Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel is the most recognizable of the three, and the addition of the others, without the context of the shows, may have felt jarring. Then there is the musical number, which is funny and interesting, but again, it feels like the movie doesn’t have a clear direction.

Overall, all of these competing elements end up making the movie a messy and underwhelming outing that had to follow on from the high emotion and quality of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which came out just a few months earlier.

Admittedly, I enjoyed a lot of the movie, but I understand why it didn’t resonate with others, and unless you have watched every bit of the MCU up to that point, including some of the most underrated shows to date, you’re missing vital details that flesh out the story.

Brie Larson And Her Co-Stars Were Unable To Promote The Marvels

Hollywood Strikes Resulted In A Lack Of Marketing For The Marvels

But beyond errors in judgment when it comes to the movie, plot, characters, and story, there was also a huge external factor that impacted on the potential success of the movie. The Hollywood strikes.

Throughout all of 2023, there were a number of strikes going on in Hollywood over disputes which focused partially on the implementation of AI in the industry, but also covered other quality of life issues in general.

While the writers’ strike arguably got the most press, and was resolved in September of 2023, the SAG-AFTRA strike, which related to working actors, only wrapped up on November 9, 2023. The Marvels came out one day later, on November 10, 2023.

Now, it’s possible to argue that the actors should have begun promoting the movie once the strike ended, but there is an enormous amount of time and effort that goes into coordinating marketing, and by the time the movie came out, it was simply too late.

This is an enormous blow to the potential success of the film, because all the performers in the movie would have been able to offer more context to their characters in interviews ahead of release. But instead, the movie got minimal promotion.

This highlights just how important the stars of a movie promoting a film actually is, as they can build excitement, and engage with fanbases on every level. Especially when some of the characters who are leads in the film require a little bit of explanation to understand who they are, and why they are joining the story.

The Marvels Fell Victim To Larger Problems At Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios Was Juggling Multiple Issues During The Production & Release Of The Marvels

But zooming out even further, there were other issues going on behind the scenes for The Marvels. Namely, the changes that were happening in the MCU, and the struggle to correct course as the big bad of the Multiverse Saga was in active court cases.

Jonathan Majors was initially arrested for ᴀssault in March 2023. And while Marvel Studios took a step back, rather than Marvel immediately firing Majors, they immediately fired Majors after he was convicted in 2023. This meant that much of the year was probably stressful for executives like Kevin Feige, who needed to make a backup plan for when/if Majors was convicted.

Keavin Feige was a large part of the success of the Infinity Saga, with his guidance and direction influencing some of the most monumental successes in film franchise history. However, his attention was not there for The Marvels. Not to mention, Feige was actively working on several movies and TV shows for the Multiverse Saga, which meant his attention was more divided than ever.

After the incredible success of the Infinity Saga, and the explosive finale that was Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the MCU started to lose momentum. Going from a mᴀssive cataclysmic ending to a series of disjointed movies just wasn’t entertaining enough for old and new fans, and superhero fatigue set in.

The Marvels deserved to get more attention, both from those working behind the scenes, and the audience, but without all the other stuff to prop up the project and ensure its success, it seems like it was essentially doomed from the start.

If things behind the scenes were less chaotic, and the whole of Hollywood wasn’t in turmoil over concerns about AI, and the MCU hadn’t tried to push the momentum too hard and too fast, maybe the movie would have had more success. However, those things weren’t in place, and the results speak for themselves when looking at how the movie landed the worst box office in the MCU’s history.

All in all, The Marvels was not a terrible movie. It had flaws, but other MCU movies have also suffered from a weak villain and a little too much goofiness. The strikes didn’t help, nor did the ambition to expand. But all of these competing elements together resulted in a lackluster performance for The Marvels.