For over two decades now, the genre that has dominated the box office has been that of the comic book movie. However, in recent years, the movie industry is going through a transitional period, as superhero movies are not performing as well as they used to. Even though some people are still excited about upcoming Marvel and upcoming DC movies, there are concerns about the phenomenon of "audience fatigue" due to recent box office bombs like The Marvels, Ant-Man: Quantumanium, and most recently Madame Web. Nonetheless, Disney's CEO Bob Iger disagrees with this idea. In a recent interview, he stated that he doesn't think that's what's actually happening.
There are still plenty of comic book movies for fans to look forward to on the 2024 movie schedule, but the brakes have been somewhat applied to all MCU flicks besides one: the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine. Despite the growing narrative suggesting the public may be growing weary of capes and cowl flicks, Iger believes the issue is about something other than the quantity of Marvel content but rather the quality. Speaking at a conference this week hosted by Morgan Stanley in San Francisco on Tuesday (via The Hollywood Reporter), he emphasized that the audience's appetite for films remains robust, provided those films are well-made. He said:
A lot of people think it’s audience fatigue, it’s not audience fatigue. They want great films. And if you build it great, they will come, and there are countless examples of that. Some are ours, and some are others.’ Oppenheimer is a perfect example of that. Just a fantastic film,” Iger said. “Focus is really important. We reduced the output of Marvel, both number of films they make and the number of TV shows, and that really becomes critical, but I feel good about the team. I feel good about the IP we’re making. I talked about a lot of the projects. We look years ahead, really. And it’s iterative.
Despite initially being Iger's idea to inundate the streamer with content, this isn't the first time the experienced CEO has attributed Disney/Marvel's box office struggles to "Quantity" over "Quality." In an interview with CNBC, before he returned to the leadership position within the House of Mouse, Iger said that Disney+ needed "more volume.”
There have been some noticeable changes within Marvel Studios over the past year. The focus has shifted to put more emphasis on quality storytelling. Clearly, those in charge over at Marvel are trying to take bold steps with its upcoming content. For instance, the forthcoming Blade movie will have a hard R-rating, and the Echo series aimed at a mature audience with a TV-MA rating under the recently launched Marvel Spotlight initiative. These moves show that Marvel is committed to ditching the more is more approach of the past and is focused on creating impactful and substantive stories that resonate with audiences on a deeper level.
As Iger and his team reduce its content production, it's important to note that there are still some exciting things to look forward to. Fans can mark their calendars for the only official MCU release of 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine, hitting theaters on July 26. And for those who want to binge-watch the Marvel Movies In Order, all you need is a Disney+ subscription.
