Thor: Love and Thunder It just became one of the greatest premieres of the year. Grossing $302 million worldwide, it’s the most resounding success of the Chris Hemsworth-starring franchise. It’s also a summer box office milestone for a particularly prolific year. Waititi’s film was honored to be the third highest-grossing film of the year. below Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessalso from the Marvel factory.
But at the same time, it earned an uncomfortable 69% positive review on Rotten Tomatoes. Which means the critics gave the film a lukewarm 6.7/10, which is pretty low for a Marvel movie. In fact, the average leaves the production in an uncomfortable quality zone, gravitating towards the mediocre. It’s not good enough to just be called entertaining, but some of its moments have been praised by several commentators. But the effect of divided criticism is again part of what seems to be a disturbing phenomenon at Marvel. Loss of quality of your products.
Of course, Thor: Love and Thunder, you can still boast that you are above a real failure, both in criticism and in numbers. It’s higher The incredible Hulk, which received 67% positive reviews and is considered a significant box office success for the brand. On the other hand, he managed to improve the infamous mark Thor: The Dark Worldwhich, with 66%, is considered one of the worst films of the saga. But he equates his defeat in film analysis with Eternalwhich is an uncomfortable 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In fact, Chloe Zhao’s film is the first in a series of covert and controversial failures of Marvel’s Stage Four approach. One that leads to the inevitable question: Is the franchise formula obsolete? Even more troubling, has Marvel lost its ability to pair entertainment with stronger approaches? There was controversy on social media over the weekend about the quality of Taika Waititi’s film. Fans who generally enjoyed the premiere noted poor visuals, script issues, and even acting. And although, despite this, the mass support of the fandom has achieved a resounding triumph in its purest form, the effect of attrition is beginning to be alarming.
Long line of nonsense for Marvel
A few months later, Doctor Strange in the multiverse Madness achieved a similar effect. It broke several box office records within its first week and became a hit. But he disappointed critics and a significant part of the public. The following weekend, earnings fell by almost 60%, which affected her earnings going forward. And it also showed that as long as fans continue to support Marvel projects, there is also a tendency towards more criticism and demand.
Sam Raimi’s film, which aimed to bring to the screen the enormity, complexity, and possibilities of the multiverse, remained ambitious. So much so that an argument that delves into the idea of a completely divided reality seems sluggish and lacks real depth. The disappointment eventually took its toll on its reception, and by the end of its third week of release, it had almost completely lost its box office impact.
Thor: Love and Thunder is in what appears to be a series of controversial proposals they do not seem to fit the tone and form of the saga. Which would be downright unsettling if the fourth phase wasn’t a transitional stage between big hit and unknown terrain. One that should also steer the saga towards more ambitious projects in the medium term. However, until now, none of the released films has a linear goal, much less a solid one. In fact, these are all stories independent of each other, which, as it were, do not even recognize the existence of the others.
Except Spiderman: No Way Home (related to the Watts trilogy) and its connection to the Doctor Strange sequel, the fourth phase has no purpose. Black Widow Cate Shortland was an anachronistic and torn farewell to a beloved character. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Daniel Cretton of Destin introduced the first Asian superhero. But it didn’t seem to affect the main plot of the scene. Much less, Eternal, whose presentation of several heroes did not make the expected impression. So far, one of Marvel’s oldest creatures has become something of an anecdote in the saga. The winks that appear in the background of larger stories don’t really matter.
Thor’s Case: Love and Thunder, a difficult game with questionable odds
But the case Thor: Love and Thunder seems even more difficult. The film is not part of the growing House of Ideas multiverse. Its director Taika Waititi declined to include the concept and focused on the love story’s central drama. But this turned the film into a capsule, which does not affect or apply to the stories told so far. Or most of them. The fourth film in the God of Thunder sub-franchise is a curiosity of the author, with absurd humor and comedic gags in its purest form. But without a serious approach that might be of interest to Dirty fourth phase of Marvel.
Marvel hasn’t had any real box office flops in the past few years. But the ability of his films to remain profitable for longer is beginning to be questioned. Especially since a huge amount of Marvel content is starting to overwhelm the entertainment world. only this year Marvel released two films and two TV series almost simultaneously. There is one more film and at least two series left for the rest of the year, including a second season. What if…? still no confirmed date.
The sheer amount of content could play against Marvel’s ability to keep its offering solid. With more and more variables to manage, characters and stories to analyze, the saga is failing. Moreover, the saturation point in the market seems very close and more problematic than one might think. This means that there are no elements in the saga that can attract the attention of the public. But even worse cope with the demands of an increasingly competitive market and with fans not quite unconditionally.
moon knight it was well received by the critics, but was not particularly successful with the public. But it was Ms. Marvelwith a strong ethnic undertone that showed that not all products of the saga have a real impact. The series had sober reviews and a fairly low-key audience.. And although the character will star in one of the premieres next year, the story of his origin has not aroused much interest. Already in the season finale, his move showed that Marvel was facing a real challenge. One that goes through the over-exploitation of the productions and how the audience reacts to the effect.
Is the end of Marvel near? The answer is no
However, Marvel is far from being a franchise that has trouble maintaining profitability. But warning signs can directly indicate that it is starting to struggle with time. After more than a decade of success, the saga must be renewed. But his ability to make the transition seems less than solid. Especially when he had to abandon his most famous heroes in favor of a number of new faces and premises.
Will renewal be the starting point for inevitable decline? FROM Wakanda forever Ryan Coogler, which is about to come out, and she is the hulk new streaming series, Marvel passes the litmus test. Can he overcome it? It remains only to analyze what happens next.
