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?

 

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Consider books by Ray Keating, including…

 

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

 

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

Is Superhero Movies Poll a Concern?

 by Ray Keating

Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

August 6, 2022

 

Disney continues to go all in on Marvel superhero movies, with Kevin Feige recently announcing Phases 5 and 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). For good measure, Warner Bros. Discovery, amidst controversy over its cancellation of Batgirl, is pointing to a 10-year DC superheroes plan.

At the same time, Morning Consult released a poll of American adults on whether or not they enjoy superhero movies. The title of the survey piece was “Superhero Film Fatigue Is Up From Last Year — Even Among Marvel Fans,” and it naturally grabbed online attention. But what are the key points from this poll?

 

First, in July 2022, 59 percent of adults said they enjoyed superhero movies, compared to 64 percent in November 2021. Those that do not enjoy superhero movies went from 36 percent in November 2021 to 41 percent in July 2022.

 

Second, among Marvel fans, those who enjoy superhero movies declined from 87 percent in November to 82 percent in July, and those saying they do not went from 13 percent in November to 18 percent in July.

 

Third, while this move in a negative direction warrants watching, it also must be noted that the poll has a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points. That means that each poll percentage can be as much as two points higher or lower. So, the changes in survey results between November and July just barely lie outside the margin of error, meaning that the relatively small changes cited might actually be even smaller.

 

Fourth, Gen Z adults were the only age group that had a larger share saying that they enjoyed superhero movies, going from 47 percent in November to 53 percent in July.

 

So, what can we really take away from these results? Even with a small move down between November and July, superhero movies remain highly popular with the public. However, no one in the superhero movie business should simply rest easy with these results. 

 

But I doubt that the slight move down in polling is about so-called “superhero film fatigue.” Instead, it has to do with the quality of movies. After Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the Marvel movies have fallen off notably in quality. 

 

The best of the lot were thanks to Sony’s Spider-Man films - Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) in the directorial hands of Sam Raimi. The other four movies – Black Widow (2021), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Eternals (2021), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) – ranked as middling to simply bad.

 

It also should be noted that other than Loki, the MCU streaming shows on Disney+ have not exactly been “wowing” many.

 

In general, movie-goers don’t suffer genre fatigue. Instead, they grow fatigued with uninteresting, forgettable, poor quality movies. That’s the lesson for Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and anyone else in the superhero movie game – indeed, in the movie game in general.

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, and 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?

 

Two great ways to order Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel, which is Ray’s sixteenth work of fiction, and the first in the Alliance of Saint Michael series. Signed paperbacks here and the Kindle edition here. 

 

Two great ways to order Ray Keating’s new nonfiction book – The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Signed paperbacks here, and paperbacks, hardcovers and Kindle editions here.  

 

Get all of Ray Keating Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries in paperback and for the Kindle at Amazon.com and signed books 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.

 

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” Best MCU Movie Since “Endgame”

 by Ray Keating

Review (SPOILER FREE)

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 23, 2021

 

DisneyBizJournal.com Movie Rating: 4 stars out of 5

DisneyBizJournal.com Box Office Rating:  $$$$ out of $$$$

 

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has to grow up, and moviegoers are enjoying, and should enjoy, going with Peter Parker on nearly all of the 148 minutes of this journey. In fact, Spider-Man: No Way Home ranks as the best MCU movie since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

 

Unfortunately, given dubious recent endeavors, one has to actually pause to give a thumbs up to the filmmakers – director Jon Watts, and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers – for simply serving up a blockbuster story that makes sense, and isn’t riddled by story and/or character inconsistencies. 

Thankfully, though, No Way Home goes well beyond such barebones expectations. While the film starts off kind of pokey, moviegoers soon find themselves immersed in a story jammed with consequences, and packed with so many emotional wallops that I eventually lost count. (Writing a spoiler-free review of this movie is a mighty challenge.)

 

Watery eyes and a tear here and there were part of the viewing experience. There’s also a nice amount of humor sprinkled in, but a marked step up in wit and quips from some other recent efforts. Indeed, No Way Home is that rare superhero movie that is rich in both laughs and tears.

 

There’s a lot going on in this film, and that isn’t something to be criticized, but instead, it’s worth savoring.

 

Along the way, there’s plenty of action one expects from a superhero movie, but notably improved upon compared to recent MCU films like Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Unlike those two previous movies, even during times of mayhem the CGI holds up in No Way Home. This is rip-roaring good stuff.

 

No Way Home also rates as a full movie in a way that perhaps some other superhero films come up a bit short, including, to a certain degree, the previous Tom Holland Spider-Man movies – Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far from Home. That is, Peter Parker/Spider-Man goes on a full character arch, with game-changing consequences to decisions and actions along the way.

 

Finally, No Way Home serves up a more traditional – in the best sense of the word – take on superheroes and what they’re supposed to be about, that is, trying to do the right thing, trying to save others, and sometimes having to sacrifice to achieve such lofty goals. Yes, with great power comes great responsibility.

 

As for the business side of No Way Home, this film is turning out to be the biggest box-office hit of 2021. As of this writing (December 23), the film, which was released in the U.S. on December 17, had hit a global box office of $751 million.

 

It looks likely that No Way Home will top $1 billion during the Christmas weekend. That will make it the first and probably the only 2021 release to top the billion-dollar mark – and deservedly so. 

 

With a reported production budget of $200 million, that’s quite a Christmas gift for Sony, as well as for Disney and Marvel in that No Way Home is proving that audiences aren’t growing tired of superhero movies, and specifically, MCU movies. But given the under-performance of Eternals, for example, perhaps audiences are ramping up their demands for higher quality superhero movies. We can all hope that is the case.

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant 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?

 

For you and a great gift! The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution is here! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use. 

 

Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13^th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions 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.

“Joker” vs. “Avengers: Endgame”

by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 23, 2020

Joker is the Oscars’ kind of superhero movie. How so? Well, it’s not really a superhero film.

At the Academy Awards on the evening of February 9th, we’ll find out how well Joker performs in terms of what trophies it takes home. But with 11 nominations, including one for best picture, Joker already ranks as the biggest winner for a ... well ... superhero-related movie.

The problem is that Joker takes arguably the most well-known comic-book super-villain – the Joker – and makes him barely related to the DC universe. The movie itself is a strangely engrossing – though a convoluted story with lots of holes and a lack of originality – and dark take of one man’s descent into mental illness, violence and evil. But there’s nothing that really ties in with the superhero genre, nor is the character formidable in any way that super-villains tend to be, or even must be – including, well, the Joker.

Meanwhile, Avengers: Endgame, which hit theaters in April, served as a capstone for the first 22 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie provided nearly everything one might want from such a film (though it had its shortcomings as well), and it earned high praise from both critics and moviegoers. (See our review here.)

The audience not only was treated to the best of superheroes in Endgame, such as courage, sacrifice, loyalty, and compassion, but also to powerful resolutions for key characters, as well as to one of the most formidable villains in the history of superhero movies in Thanos. (See our take on Thanos here in our Infinity War review.)

In June, I wrote about Endgame and the Oscars, comparing it to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, with The Return of the King winning best picture, best director (Peter Jackson), and a total of 11 Academy Awards at the 2004 Oscars. I concluded: “Endgame and the entire MCU truly rank as a monumental achievement in cinematic history – one that deserves recognition by the Academy. And that recognition should come not just in the form of a best picture nomination for Avengers: Endgame, but in the actual awarding of the best picture Oscar. It made sense for The Return of the King and it does for Avengers: Endgame.”

Nonetheless, Endgame only earned one nomination for visual effects.

Am I surprised that the Academy disagreed? Not at all. But I am disappointed. Meanwhile, I would argue that Black Panther (2018) remains as the lone superhero movie to be nominated for best picture – with Joker being, again, something other than a superhero movie. So, in reality, the Oscar bias against superhero films persists.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Disney Cashes in on Fox Acquisition at Oscars

by Ray Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 14, 2020

The Walt Disney Company has cashed in nicely on its Fox acquisition in terms of Oscar nominations.

The battle between Hollywood titans – new and long established – was on display with the announcement of Oscar nominations, as Netflix – the new in Hollywood – garnered 24 nominations, and Disney – the long-established in Hollywood – came in number two with 23 nominations. One gets the feeling that the Netflix-vs.-Disney battle will be playing out in all kinds of ways for years to come, from the number of streaming subscribers to the luring of talent to the number of award nominations and wins. Although innovation and technology offer no guarantees to either Netflix or Disney.

As for Disney’s nominations, key big ones were thanks to Fox. For example, Disney’s two Best Picture nominees were both Fox products – Ford v Ferrari and JoJo Rabbit. (Check out our review of Ford v Ferrari in which we concluded: “Perhaps there will be some nominations at Oscar time that will give this worthy movie an extra boost at the box office.”) Scarlett Johansson also earned one of her two actress nominations for Jojo Rabbit. 

In total, Ford v Ferrari earned four nominations, and Jojo Rabbit came in with six. Toss in a nomination for sound mixing for Ad Astra (see our review of this solid film), and one for original song for Breakthrough, and 12 of the Disney nominations came thanks to Fox.

Among other notables, John Williams’ score for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker received a nomination, and Toy Story 4was nominated for best animated feature (see our review for a different take on Toy Story 4). For good measure, Avengers Endgame, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and The Lion King were all nominated for best visual effects.

Stay tuned. We’ll have more to say on Endgame in the next DisneyBizJournal piece on the Oscars.

The Oscars will be awarded on Sunday evening, February 9^th.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Disney Will Have Seven $1-Billion-Plus 2019 Releases

by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 16, 2019

Over the weekend, Disney’s Frozen 2 topped $1 billion in box office receipts. That makes the sixth Disney release in 2019 to exceed the billion-dollar mark.

According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, Frozen 2 has now raked in $1.03 billion worldwide. The other five billion-dollar babies so far this year for Disney have been:

• Captain Marvel at $1.13 billion

• Aladdin at $1.07 billion

• The Lion King at $1.66 billion

• Avengers: Endgame at $2.8 billion

• Toy Story 4 at $1.07 billion

But, of course, the next billion-dollar earner opens later this week – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That, too, will top a billion (perhaps $2 billion?).

Much has been made of Disney fumbling Star Wars. But The Mandalorian on Disney+ and the huge demand for the Disney World ride Rise of the Resistance tell another story. If director J.J. Abrams erases the failure (or at least reduces the sting) of Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, most negative talk about Star Wars will give way to excitement about what’s next.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

No End to Avengers: Endgame – In Terms of Revenue?

by Ray Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

August 23, 2019

Is there no end to the robust revenue stream for Disney from Avengers: Endgame? Well, at least, not right now.

In July, Endgamefinally pushed ahead of Avatar in terms of its all-time box office take. In nominal terms, Avengers: Endgame now ranks as number one in terms of total box office revenue – at least in nominal terms. (See DisneyBizJournal’s analysis here.)

But there’s more revenue streaming in, as MediaPlayNews.com is reporting on Endgame’s phenomenal debut on Blu-ray and DVD. The site reported: “At retail, Avengers: Endgame sold more copies than the combined total of the rest of the top 20 by a more-than 3-to-1 margin, and the top 50 by more than 2-to-1.”

My reaction: Wow.

Check out the full story here.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

If you enjoyed this article, and since I am the author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories, can I ask you to take at least one (preferably more) of the following steps?

1) The new Pastor Stephen Grant novel – DEEP ROUGH – has arrived! You can order the Kindle edition, the paperback, or the signed book.

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3) Buy one of the other Pastor Stephen Grant novels or short stories at Amazon.comor signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

4) Become a member of the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship, and get all kinds of FREE stuff, including each new book in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Check out the levels and benefits here.

Disney Hits Annual Box-Office Record ... in July

by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 29, 2019

Disney hit a box-office record for the entire year, but it’s only July, according to a Hollywood Reporter article.

Keeping in mind that these comparisons are in nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation (my standard economist disclaimer), Disney has pulled in a total of $7.67 billion globally so far this year, according to the Reporter, which surpasses the previous full-year record of $7.61 billion, which also was held by Disney for 2016.

For good measure, Disney’s $5.09 billion internationally ranks as the first time international revenues have moved beyond $5 billion for a studio.

Disney also is on track to break its 2016 record of having four films break the $1 billion mark – with Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin and both Toy Story 4 and The Lion King are on track to do so shortly.

And there’s more to come, including Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Frozen II and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, as well as films moved under the Disney umbrella with the Fox merger, such as to be Ad Astra, Terminator: Dark Fate, and Ford v. Ferrari.

One of the interesting questions looking ahead is: Will Disney in future years be able to match what it has accomplished at the box office in 2019? Although, how much will Disney care given its investment in the Disney+ streaming service and the ongoing shift of video entertainment from the theater to the home?

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

If you enjoyed this article, and since I am the author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories, can I ask you to take at least one (preferably more) of the following steps?

1) The new Pastor Stephen Grant novel – DEEP ROUGH – has arrived! You can order the Kindle edition, the paperback, or the signed book.

2) Please join the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories email list, and get the upcoming short story, THE TRAITOR, for free! Sign up here.

3) Buy one of the other Pastor Stephen Grant novels or short stories at Amazon.comor signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

4) Become a member of the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship, and get all kinds of FREE stuff, including each new book in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Check out the levels and benefits here.

Avengers: Endgame Becomes All-Time Box Office Champ ... Well, Not Really

by Ray Keating

Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 23, 2019

It’s been widely reported that Avengers: Endgame has moved ahead of Avatar to become the all-time box-office hero. The superhero movie fan in me certainly loves this. Toss in the fact that I found Avatar to be an annoying movie, and I’m even more pleased.

However, the economist in me knows that this isn’t really the case. After all, the widely quoted box-office numbers on Endgame and Avatar– specifically, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, Endgame earning $2,790,591,417 with Avatar at $2,789,679,794 – are not adjusted for inflation.

Avatarwas released in 2009. So, adjusting for inflation, it’s real, or inflation-adjusted, box-office take comes into at approximately $3.3 billion in current dollars.

So, sorry, Endgame still trails Avatar. But Avatar was never the tops at the box office anyway. 

The box-office king remains Gone with the Wind, which earned $402,352,579with a December 1939 release, again, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. That take translates into $7.27 billion in current dollars.

Sorry to the Avengers, but it’s Gone with the Wind as the big box-office winner.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

If you enjoyed this article, and since I am the author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories, can I ask you to take at least one (preferably more) of the following steps?

1) The new Pastor Stephen Grant novel – DEEP ROUGH – has arrived! You can order the Kindle edition, the paperback, or the signed book.

2) Please join the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories email list, and get the upcoming short story, THE TRAITOR, for free! Sign up here.

3) Buy one of the other Pastor Stephen Grant novels or short stories at Amazon.comor signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

4) Become a member of the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship, and get all kinds of FREE stuff, including each new book in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Check out the levels and benefits here.

Will the Oscars Finally Recognize Superhero Films? The Lord of the Rings Example

by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

June 14, 2019

Can Avengers: Endgame lay waste to Hollywood’s Oscar bias against superheroes?

The Academy Awards just announced the date for its 2022 Oscars show, and confirmed the dates for the 2020 and 2021 shows. I understand that February 9, 2020, for the upcoming Oscars seems pretty far off, and we still have plenty of movies to watch in 2019, but this announcement got me thinking about whether or not Avengers: Endgame might finally have the power to break through the Academy’s opposition to superheroes.

If there’s hope on this front, it can be found in The Lord of the Rings movies. The first in that film trilogy – The Fellowship of the Ring – hit theaters in December 2001, followed by The Two Towers in December 2002. Both films were nominated for Best Picture, but failed to win, only taking home technical and music Oscars. And then came The Return of the King in December 2003. All three movies, by the way, were filmed together, and then released over those three Decembers.

It was noted at the time that Academy voters were holding off on awarding the big Oscars until the last movie in the trilogy. However, that was no slam dunk. It needs to be pointed out that no true fantasy movie had ever won Best Picture. In fact, Fellowship and Two Towers were, it can be argued, the only other true fantasy films ever nominated for Best Picture to that point.

So, at the 2004 Oscars, The Return of the King broke through, winning Best Picture, Best Director (Peter Jackson), and a total of 11 Academy Awards.

There are parallels when it comes to Avengers: Endgame, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Released in April 2019, Endgame not only was the second part of an epic story that began in Avengers: Infinity War (April 2018), but it brought to a close this part of the MCU that covered a breathtaking 22 films, starting with Iron Man in May 2008.

Also, no superhero movie has ever won a Best Picture Academy Award, with Black Panther (February 2018) becoming the first movie in the genre to be nominated for Best Picture. And there have been assorted snubs in terms of nominations over the years, in particular with Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008).

And of course, there is the critical and box office success of Endgame itself (see the DisneyBizJournal review) as the crescendo of these 22 interlocking movies that included very few misses. 

Also, if the Academy sees wisdom in nominating Endgame, and it is considered a serious contender, people might actually watch the February 2020 Oscars show, as opposed to the show’s long decline due to, in large part, a lack of interest among most of the movie-going public for the films nominated.

Endgame and the entire MCU truly rank as a monumental achievement in cinematic history – one that deserves recognition by the Academy. And that recognition should come not just in the form of a Best Picture nomination for Avengers: Endgame, but in the actual awarding of the Best Picture Oscar. It made sense for The Return of the King and it does for Avengers: Endgame.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

If you enjoyed this article, and since I am the author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories, can I ask you to take at least one (preferably more) of the following steps?

1) Please join the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories email list, and get the upcoming short story, THE TRAITOR, for free! Sign up here.

2) Buy one of my Pastor Stephen Grant novels or short stories at Amazon.comor signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

3) Become a member of the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship, and get all kinds of FREE stuff, including each new book in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Check out the levels and benefits here.