If your newsfeed is anything like mine, then you have been bombarded by notifications from every website in the pop culture world telling you just how bad The Marvels movie is. Telling you how many dollars they are losing each day and how this movie has failed the MCU and us as fans.
The real question is, how much of this is true, and how much of this is clickbait designed to get you onto their websites? Is the movie terrible, or are other outside factors affecting it, and how many people are coming to see it?
Captain Marvel opened in 2019 to a weekend of $153 million in commercial box office sales. Shortly following the fantastic box office weekend came the fallout. People, mostly men, took to the internet to complain about the movie, the star, the tone of the story, and the girl power shown on screen.
Brie Larson was put on blast all over social media for her character and how she portrayed it.
Articles were printed all about how Brie was a bad castmate and how she put girl power ahead of everything else. Is that true? Samuel L. Jackson disagrees. He said in an interview, “Brie’s a stronger person than people give her credit for. She’s not going to let any of that stuff destroy her. These incel dudes who hate strong women, or the fact that she’s a feminist who has an opinion and expressed it?”
And Samuel L. Jackson wasn’t the only one. Don Cheadle also came to her defense in multiple tweets. Cheadle said in one of them, “Whoever you are, you’re reading in. Take a break from your detective work. We’re all good. Hope you enjoy the movie.”
Unfortunately, these stars taking up for their friend and castmate wasn’t enough for some. Instead of taking their word for it, they chose to believe what they read on the internet. And jeez, it’s on the internet; it must be true. (insert eye roll here )
Iman Vellani stormed onto the scene with the release of Ms. Marvel on Disney Plus in 2022 as Kamala Khan. It came with mixed reviews. Many of the reviewers who were unhappy with the show were either not happy with the female lead or that the show focused on a Middle Eastern girl in a Middle Eastern family.
Those reviewers took to the internet to review bomb the show. So, instead of seeing the fantastic performance of Iman Vellani, those who review bombed only saw what they wanted or didn’t want to see. They didn’t see a story of a young girl dealing with becoming a young woman. They didn’t see the story of a young woman dealing with her family and their cultural and religious differences in the area in which they lived. They didn’t see a young woman dealing with all of that and new superpowers on top of it all. They saw brown skin and Middle Eastern culture and religion. Sadly, they missed out on an amazing story and introduction of a great character.
2023 is a different era than 2019. 2019 was the last year of normality. 2020 came and swept normal right out the door, possibly never returning. In 2020, we stopped everything, including moviegoing. Moviegoing went from being a theater-only experience to studios sharing their movies out in the digital streaming world because otherwise, there was the fear that they would never be shown. So, instead of wiping them away as a total loss, studios took to streaming. People got used to that very quickly. Maybe a little too quickly.
For as many who couldn’t wait to get back to the theater, there were just as many who were and are content to wait for a movie to make its way to its respective streaming channel or to rent it from home. Those who stay home and wait for the stream impact the opening weekend numbers, and that is an asterisk that has to be considered when gauging the success of a movie in dollars. How many dollars were lost by those who wait for the movie to come to a streaming platform? It has to be part of the equation.
Is the movie “Bombing”? The easy answer is no. The extended version is that some will say yes to benefit their view and agenda. The focus will be on the $47 million opening night at the box office. That is a misdirection to have you ignore the impact the actors’ and writers’ strikes have had on promoting materials. There was no promotion from the actors. ZERO. Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, Teyonah Paris, and Samuel L. Jackson did not and could not promote this movie. There was no buzz, hype, or push from the stars. You cannot ignore that fact and say that you are objectively reviewing the movie’s success. So, while focusing on the $47 million opening, what gets overlooked is that the movie is doing well worldwide, with over $161 million in worldwide box office sales in just 10 days.
Cinemascore.com gives The Marvels a B.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score gives the movie a 62%, while the audience gives an 83%.
If you do a quick Google search for Marvel movie reviews, you will find nearly as many 5-star reviews from people who loved the movie and 1-star reviews from the people who didn’t like it because the movie was “woke,” had too much “girl power” and didn’t aim toward teenage boys.
I suggest ignoring the 1-stars and looking at the 3’s and 4’s. You’re more likely to find an actual review and a critical nod instead of the HeMan Woman Haters Club (the douchebag club so named from the movie “Little Rascals”) residing in the 1-star reviews.
You should also check out a review from fellow Couch Souper – Art of Lily K – She has a spoiler-filled and honest review of the movie. I found her review to be a helpful guide; you may too.
I think it’s important to recognize the differences between critical and financial success. Did The Marvels get the financial success that Marvel and Disney were counting on? Not likely. Although the film has done well in the worldwide market, the initial release didn’t match what the original Captain Marvel had achieved. But critically, the movie has been well received by fans and as we have seen with other movies that have underperformed at the box office, there is a second life in streaming.
Some films take time to find their place in the story. Recent examples of this would include Thor Dark World and the last installment of Indiana Jones. Both were not well received when released but found new life on streaming. Thor Dark World turned out to be a very important part of the puzzle that was the Infinity War saga during that phase of the MCU. Indiana Jones is getting new life and a second chance at appreciation by fans who didn’t go to see it at the theater.
Marvel and Disney have shown that they can still make a quality team-up superhero film and energize the fandom around characters like Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau. And although it may take time to find its place and fans, I suspect The Marvels will do that once this movie comes to Disney Plus.
