Disney’s Marvel Still Fixing Rather Than Building

 by Ray Keating

Analysis/Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

November 13, 2023

 

The news for Disney regarding the opening weekend of The Marvels wasn’t good, but then again, it’s hard to say that it was unexpected. This is the most recent signal that Disney CEO Bob Iger might have been a bit premature in declaring that the company was shifting from a “fixing” stage to a “building” stage during the company’s earnings call last week.

The Marvels had the worst opening weekend of any MCU movie. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the domestic take was $47 million and the international box office was $41.5 million. Reviews are generally poor. And reports put the production budget alone at approximately $274 million. Marketing/post-production costs are going to run anywhere from 50 percent to 100 percent of the production costs. 

 

And keep in mind that Disney doesn’t take all of those box office revenue dollars, with a major chunk going to movie theaters. As DisneyBizJournal.com has previously noted, “It needs to be pointed out that all of the box office gross doesn’t go to Disney. Various industry reports note that studios take in about 55 percent of the domestic box office, and anywhere from 20 percent to 40 percent of foreign ticket sales.” It also should be noted that the studio take domestically is a bit higher with the earliest box office numbers. 

 

Even if we use a very generous breakdown for Disney, The Marvels would have to take in more than $950 million to start making a box-office profit.

 

So, you’re looking at another case where Disney’s inability to control costs, combined with another Marvel under-performer in terms of quality, means a box-office bomb.

 

And consider the news that Captain America 4 – Captain America: Brave New World – has not just been pushed from July 2024 to February 2025 due to the writers’ strike, but also, reportedly, for major reshoots due to poor test scores. And those reshoots appear to be major, and lasting a few months. 

 

And then there are the major changes being undertaken for the return of Daredevil to Disney+. 

 

On Disney’s recent earnings call, Iger stated his belief that quantity can undermine quality, and admitted, “We lost some focus.” That might be an understatement in terms of both quality of storytelling and acting responsibly in terms of costs. And “fixing” Cap 4 and Daredevil will only drive costs higher.

 

And now, the only MCU film scheduled for 2024 is Deadpool 3. 

 

Are there bright spots? Disney+’s Loki has fully dropped season 2, and both seasons were excellent. And the trailer for Echo looked surprisingly interesting. But what else is there?

Disney captured lightning in a bottle with its run of MCU films through Avengers: Endgame. And there was plenty of quantity over that stretch, and but for a few misses, quality largely reigned. But since then, quality has been the exception. 

 

In terms of the MCU, Disney still has plenty of fixing to do, and perhaps the best term looking ahead is “rebuilding.”

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating Podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

 

Consider books by Ray Keating, including…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. There are 18 books in the series now.

 

• Order The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Kindle editions and paperbacks via Amazon here and signed books here. And don’t forget the first book in this growing series, i.e., The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel is at Amazon. 

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Signed editions of Ray’s books are at www.RayKeatingOnline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.