The Marvels, the next addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is set to hit theaters this week. As with any major release, a Rotten Tomatoes score is released and in the case of The Marvels – the reviews have been less than stellar.
At the time of writing, The Marvels has a 54% – which qualifies as “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes‘ ranking system. The 54% places it on the lower end of MCU movies, as it is right above Eternals which received a 47% and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania at 46%. Though the score may be considered a disappointment, it’s important to point out that a Rotten Tomatoes critic score differs from the audience score – which comes out later on.
Some of the reviews called the movie disjointed and rushed and said it struggled to balance innovation with the overarching MCU narrative – resulting in script problems. Many critics, however, praised Iman Vellani‘s performance as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel – and pointed to her performance as being a stand out part of the film.
The mediocre reviews aren’t going to help the movie’s box office forecast, as the film is projected to have a $140 million opening weekend – a number that falls significantly short of the $440 million opening that 2018’s Captain Marvel had. Captain Marvel obviously benefitted from being a film in between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, as they were two of the most anticipated movies ever made.
The Marvels performance will undoubtedly have major implications for the future of the MCU – with Marvel Studios potentially reassessing their storytelling approach. There have already been rumors pointing to major changes being made behind the scenes, so disappointing box office numbers for a film like this would only escalate that approach. There is speculation that the studio may shift focus away from Disney Plus TV shows and instead make straightforward storytelling that avoids convoluted multiverse plots a priority going forward.
For now, fans can only wait and see how The Marvels performs and what it hints about the future of Marvel Studios. The film hits theaters everywhere on November 10th.