The Marvels: Superhero film falls short with the smallest-ever box office debut in the MCU.

The latest superhero film from Marvel, The Marvels, had a disappointing opening weekend in the US, earning just $47 million. This makes it the lowest-grossing opening for a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In contrast, Avengers: Endgame set a new record in 2019 by raking in a staggering $1.2 billion globally during its opening run. The Marvels features Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris, and serves as a follow-up to the 2019 film Captain Marvel. However, it underperformed compared to its predecessor, with a 67% drop in box office earnings. Industry analyst David A Gross describes this as an "unprecedented Marvel box office collapse." Typically, sequels in the superhero genre outperform their predecessors, but The Marvels still has a long way to go to recoup its $220 million production cost. There are speculations about whether this decline reflects superhero fatigue among audiences after a string of immensely successful blockbusters. The release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May had a better opening weekend, earning $118 million in the US. Gross suggests that the rise of streaming services could be impacting cinema revenues, citing the recently concluded actors' strike, which prevented The Marvels stars from engaging in promotional activities. He also mentions the presence of uninspiring and poorly executed superhero movies as another factor. Some critics have expressed similar sentiments. Forbes' Dani Di Placido raised the point in March that superhero films no longer feel essential, noting that Marvel Studios may be suffering from releasing too many films too quickly, leading to an overwhelmed and disinterested audience. Nearly a year ago, Miles Surrey suggested that signs of superhero fatigue were emerging, with polls supporting the theory. The storyline of The Marvels revolves around Captain Marvel attempting to save a destabilized universe with the assistance of Ms. Marvel, played by Iman Vellani, and Captain Monica Rambeau, portrayed by Teyonah Parris. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with The New York Times stating that it felt like a familiar story seen multiple times before, while The Guardian labeled it a lackluster addition to the franchise. However, despite negative early reviews, the Rotten Tomatoes audience score for the film turned out better than expected, according to Screen Rant. In terms of box office performance, the horror movie Five Nights at Freddy's secured the second spot, followed by Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in third place, and Sofia Coppola's biopic Priscilla in fourth. Martin Scorsese's historical drama Killers of the Flower Moon, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, rounded off the top five.