With the worst opening in MCU history, The Marvels bombed.

Quite a few things may have gone wrong, and we'll try to touch on all of them. It only brought in $47 million domestically and under $100 million worldwide when it opened — the worst since The Incredible Hulk, according to Y! Entertainment.

So what happened?

Here are some theories on the Marvel movie disaster and why it didn't perform up to MCU standards.

WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike

Before its release, the film had to contend with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Both are thankfully over, but very limited promotion could be done during them.

Brie Larson, who starred as Captain Marvel and Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel, could not discuss the film in interviews or do any press tours during the actors' strike (along with the other actors). When the strike ended, there was a rally to do as many promotions as possible, but it seemed like it was too little too late.

If they were able to promote the movie, the stars could've promoted it like crazy, and it would've surely had a positive impact.

Reviews

The reviews haven't been the best — or the worst. Currently, it holds a 62% Tomatometer. However, it's at an 84% audience score on Rotton Tomatoes.

James Beradinelli of Reel Views said, “The Marvels is so poorly conceived and ineptly executed that it not only makes this a front-runner for the dubious honor of worst movie of the MCU but a contender for the worst superhero movie of all time.”

Shirley Li of The Atlantic said, “Plasurably lightweight, its story unburdened by the off-screen drama of the studio that made it.”

“I had fun, I really enjoyed it,” Achara Kirk of CinePals stated.

Mixed reviews aren't the worst thing, but if it had a solid 4-stars and great reviews across the board, the impact on ticket sales might have been more significant. In fact, we're pretty sure they would've made a massive difference.

Superhero Burnout

Is it possible that audiences are just getting tired of superhero movies and sequels? It's kinda looking that way.

“Something is shifting for superheroes,” according to Fortune. Warner Bros.'s Barbie was the biggest hit of the year, with more than $1.4 billion made worldwide. As most of the general public knows, Barbie was NOT a superhero movie.

However, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 launched over the summer with $118 million and ultimately brought in $845.6 million — showing not every action-packed superhero movie is a flop.

But still, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Eternals were labeled disappointments after their theatrical runs, according to Variety.

The days of lining up at the theaters for MCU, DC, or any other superhero flicks might be over.

Unfamiliar Characters

The characters in The Marvels are less familiar than, let's say, Spiderman. Additionally, Ms. Marvel was the least-watched MCU series on Disney+, according to Coming Soon.

With these unfamiliar characters, viewing for many moviegoers probably wasn't essential. That includes fans of the Marvel franchise.

Plus, it's the 33rd film of the MCU — which is a ton more than most franchises, according to Looper.

When you have something like an Avengers: Endgame, that's a “must-see” in many peoples' eyes. Also, movies like Endgame give the public well-known characters they've been attached to for years (even generations).

Social Media

Back in April, Rolling Stone reported on toxic fan discourse that The Marvels was receiving. Beyond that, there was hatred and distaste for the film before launch, according to Looper.

Underperformance before its release was widely discussed and manifested that way once the day came.

This also includes all the chatter of how director Nia DaCosta left the film while post-production was occurring, only adding to the black cloud lingering over the film.

Whatever the case may be, it seems like various factors have contributed to The Marvels‘ unsuccessful box office numbers. Hopefully, like any good superhero story, Marvel can return and win the box office with future releases.