Confirming what I have been telling you for the past couple of months, the trades are now playing catch-up and have confirmed Marvel’s Thunderbolts is another massive bomb from Kevin Feige.
The New Avengers have failed to assemble.
Thunderbolts Crashes at the Box Office, New Avengers Strategy Fails
After six weeks, Thunderbolts is at a $377 million global box office, which is well under the reported $425 million break-even number. It also comes in under the Captain America: Brave New World worldwide haul of over $415 million. Recall Disney recently named Cap 4 in its investor report as a big loss, so expect the same for Thunderbolts.
New Avengers bombing also follows Bob Iger desperately trying to sell the movie prior to its release when he said the flick was the “first and best” example of Marvel’s new movie strategy. Well, how’d that work out? It’s reported that the Thunderbolts budget was kept low for a Marvel movie, said to be $180 million instead of $200M+, but we see that didn’t matter, and the film still failed to deliver. It’s the second-worst performing MCU movie, only better than The Marvels. Now that hurts.
Even the Trades Admit Marvel’s in Trouble
Regarding the trades, when they stop shilling and start reporting the truth, that’s when you know things are really bad.
Variety‘s report titled – ‘Thunderbolts*’ Lost Millions of Dollars Despite Great Reviews. Where Does Marvel Go Next? – goes over how bad things are for Kevin Feige’s MCU.
“Thunderbolts is the latest Marvel movie to lose millions of dollars in theaters,” states the site. “Pre-pandemic, 19 out of 22 Marvel movies cracked $500 million at the global box office. Starting in 2020, just six out of 13 films have reached that half-billion benchmark.“
Why the MCU has been failing
However, what they won’t tell you is the reason why the MCU movies have failed. Disney, Marvel, and the shill sites continue to spin things that too much content is to blame. The real reason for the blame is not too much content; it’s the fact that they chose to serve up the agenda instead of telling a quality story.
Case in point is Thunderbolts, which is all about Florence Pugh as Yelena. She’s a character who has no business headlining an MCU blockbuster let alone the first appearance of the “New Avengers.” She has zero superpowers. She’s depressed. Her character first appeared in the failed Black Widow movie. No one watched the Disney+ shows.
Fans to Kevin Feige: we don’t want it
Thunderbolts also followed the massive failure of The Marvels, where the fans sent Feige a message of their own: we don’t want it. Instead of giving fans what they want, Feige not only doubled down, but has tripled down, as up next is Fantastic Four, which is another female-driven movie.
The shills also can’t blame the fanboys, as they make up a majority of the audience. It’s the women who don’t care.
Feige vs. Iger? Marvel’s Future Caught in a Power Struggle
Variety hints there may be truth to the rumors of a behind-the-scenes clash between Kevin Feige and Bob Iger.
According to the report, Marvel appears to be shifting away from lesser-known characters and refocusing on major blockbusters, like Spider-Man, Deadpool, and Avengers-level events.
Meanwhile, rumors say that Feige wants the upcoming X-Men reboot to lean into social commentary, while Iger is pushing for more mainstream, action-driven spectacle that’s a proven success.
