Critics and audiences aren't raving about The Marvels

The Marvels also fell short at the international box office, grossing $63.3 million in its first week. Disney had hoped for the film generate $140 million worldwide from its release but ended the week with $110 million. The company will have an uphill battle from here to recoup the estimated $200 million production cost and $100 million in marketing expenses for the film.

The lack of turnout for The Marvels isn't really surprising as the SAG-AFTRA strike prevented actors from promoting the movie. Larson only had the opportunity to promote the film on the day of its premiere. This is because the actors' strike ended when she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to talk about the film.

Marvel Studios has been struggling this year, especially after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania floundered at the box office, which was followed by Secret Invasion, a series that generally failed to live up to its billing over on Disney+. It's safe to say that the MCU is seemingly no longer the box office powerhouse that it once was.

Marvel did have some success this year at the box office though, with James Gunn's final outing as director in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. Loki Season 2 also fared well on Disney+ with record-breaking viewership numbers.

As The Marvels marks Marvel Studios' last project for 2023, we now turn our attention to Deadpool 3, the only MCU movie currently scheduled for 2024. Deadpool has had a strong showing in the previous two movies grossing a total of over $1.56 billion. The addition of Hugh Jackman and the abundance of casting rumors should generate a lot of interest for the threequel.