In the history of major film franchises, few have matched the prolonged cultural appeal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios, which Disney acquired for $4 billion in 2009, had an unprecedented run of success throughout the 2010s, with their 23 theatrical releases from 2008-2019 averaging more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
However, audiences have turned sour on the Marvel brand since the pandemic, with many new films becoming box office flops rather than hits. A profile from the Wall Street Journal detailed the fall of the Marvel brand and its struggle to reclaim some of its cultural relevance.
With input from dozens of employees working at Marvel Studios, the profile points to Disney’s handling of Marvel content on Disney+ as the biggest reason for the downfall. After the unprecedented success of AVENGERS: ENDGAME in 2019, which earned $2.8 billion in worldwide sales and became the second-highest-grossing film of all time, Disney looked to capitalize on Marvel’s popularity by launching several streaming series on its recently launched streaming platform Disney+. According to one insider, “the strategy became just expansion, expansion, expansion”.
While the first couple of series, LOKI and WANDAVISION, were well received, as the number of films and series increased, the perceived quality decreased. Insiders at Marvel told the Wall Street Journal that Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, was overwhelmed by the volume of new content, which was too much for one person to oversee. After former CEO Bob Iger returned to Disney at the end of 2022, the company laid off a significant number of employees at Marvel and canceled several movies and streaming projects that were in development.
Iger has since outlined the new strategy for Marvel, saying that Marvel would “decrease volume” by having an annual output of only 2 Disney+ series and 2-3 theatrical releases. This is to counter the “oversaturation” that many say took place with the Marvel franchises. It remains to be seen whether audiences will reembrace the Marvel franchise as they did in the 2010s.
It had only one movie release in 2024, DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, which did very well. Disney will release three new Marvel movies in 2025, starting with CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD on February 14th, THUNDERBOLTS* this weekend, and THE FANTASTIC FOUR: THE FIRST STEPS on July 25th. Their fate will give an important indication of where consumers stand in their appetite for high-end superhero fare.
