The Marvel Cinematic Universe is still the biggest franchise in Hollywood today, but it’s not a controversial statement to say that the MCU (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription) has had difficulty finding its footing post-Avengers: Endgame. Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies order know there have been a handful of clear success stories, like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Deadpool & Wolverine, many of the recent MCU films have struggled, and now a former Marvel comic writer thinks it is time for Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige to step down.
Rob Liefeld is best known as one of the creators of Deadpool, but he recently had a somewhat acrimonious split from the House of Ideas following what he claims was disrespect from Kevin Feige and others at Marvel Studios. In a post to Twitter, Liefeld took aim at Feige, claiming that the second-weekend box office drop for Captain America: Brave New World is evidence that Feige’s run of success is over. Liefeld said…
Get Feige off the mound. He’s spent.
The week-to-week drop in box office for Brave New World isn't an MCU record but it is certainly significant. While the movie had a solid opening, nearly $200 million at the global box office, the movie dropped nearly 70% in its second weekend and currently sits at a global total of under $300 million. While it’s not the most significant second-weekend drop for the MCU, it’s not insignificant.
Still, it seems a bit excessive to call Kevin Feige “spent” as a result of the new Captain America movie not setting box office records. While the film is technically the fourth Captain America project, it’s essentially the first movie in a new franchise with Anthony Mackie taking the lead as Captain America. The new film’s box office hasn’t been that different (adjusted for inflation) than that of Captain America: The First Avenger.
It’s not a secret that Marvel Studios went through some issues. Disney CEO Bob Iger has been open that he believes that the franchise, under previous CEO Bob Chapek, over-extended itself. Brave New World was given the green light during that era. And there was clearly already an internal understanding that the movie had issues as it had more significant reshoots than most blockbuster movies.
Those reshoots may have made Captain America: Brave New World a better movie, but they also increased the film’s overall budget, meaning it would need to be even more successful to be considered a win in the eyes of Disney.
It’s probably a bit too early to be calling or the end of Kevin Feige’s tenure at Marvel Studios. On the whole, his track record has been incredible, and there have been enough success stories recently to prove that the MCU is far from over.
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