Why Has Marvel Fallen Off?
In the golden days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, millions would flock to theaters in groves every year. Missing a Marvel film back in the day was something that one simply did not do. I vividly remember watching films from the MCU as I started to graduate from childish cartoons and shows. Every single weekend I would ask my parents if I could watch a Marvel film. I couldn’t wait to catch up on the series. This was the reality of many young children and even older adults back in the day. Thus, these films were undeniably the biggest hits in the box office. Any film made by Marvel was guaranteed to score hundreds of millions of dollars in profit.
Recently, however, it seems as if we hear more news about Marvel films failing to gain a substantial profit or failing to break even. A few years ago, when movies such as Avengers: Endgame were hitting $2.798 billion at the box office, people would laugh at such a statement. In 2019, arguably during the climax of the MCU, any Marvel movie failing to make profit wouldn’t be possible. You didn’t have to be a hardcore, passionate fan of the franchise in order to hear about the recent projects. Every single one of the releases would make a substantial amount of noise that even “casual” fans would be notified of its premiere. However, in recent years, more and more Marvel movies have failed to ignite the same passion within the fanbase and have thus failed to show adequate results in terms of ticket sales. Less and less of the fanbase have been intrigued with the recent content Marvel is putting out, with every passing project resulting in even less noise. So, has the world simply moved on from the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Are superheros/superheroines just simply not what peaks the recent generations interest? Or are there perhaps other explanations that could be attributed to the decline of success Marvel has seen in recent years?
The majority of the people that are informed about the MCU could most likely agree that the last time Marvel had a phenomenal year was in 2019. This year was the release of the final film or climax of the story of a group known as the Avengers. With many stories of different characters being completed within the plot of the movie, it almost seemed like a conclusion and a final film in the storyline of the entire cinematic universe. One question that plagued my mind as I exited the theater was, what would come next? It seemed as if all the storylines were all used up, with old cast members and characters departing from the films. However, despite all of this, Marvel continued to churn content out.
Nevertheless, I think most fans could admit to the fact that most of what has come after the release of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” in 2019 has been a massive disappointment in terms of quality. With more and more disappointing releases stacking up, according to Brett Hovenkotter of medium.com, “audiences won’t show up to consume everything adorned with the Marvel logo.” As someone who has been a fan of the franchise for quite some time, I would have to agree with his sentiments. I no longer feel compelled, even as an avid fan, to check some of the releases, even the ones that don’t require me having to drive all the way to the theater. I think the main reasons for this change of interest seen not just in my personal experience but the majority of fan experiences is the drop in storytelling. Many of the films/works seem to lack substance and often have very cheesy, predictable plots. Nothing seems to quite have the same magic the “Avengers” films had, with each movie building off of one another and adding on to the entirety of the story seen within the franchise. Every movie was like a puzzle piece, as each film required watching in order for viewers to grasp the big picture and fully understand what was going on in the entire storyline. Every one of these films were intriguing, and at the very least had something to contribute to the story of the MCU. Recently, however, despite not having watched most of these releases, many of the new films seem to go off on their own tangent, with less cohesion and unity. They also don’t seem to be quite good, which is the most important base of a successful franchise: having good individual films. Consequently, many of these new films lack the attention and spotlight once shined upon Marvel. Personally, as a fan, I would love to see change and the bringing back of old, beloved characters. Marvel has proven that they can still come up with good content, as seen with the Spider-Verse franchise made in conjunction with Sony. Having enjoyed those films, I would love to see the same quality in the live-action movies that I grew up loving.
