Take a bow, The Marvels! The Brie Larson sequel was routinely riled last November when it earned the dishonor of being the lowest-grossing MCU movie of all time at the box office. Miraculously, however, it managed a full 180-degree turn once it hit streaming.
Now that folks could catch it from the comfort of their own homes, Disney Plus users gave the movie a try and, surprise surprise, realized that they thought it was a totally fun slice of superhero cinema and they were sorry for being so dismissive of it when it was in theaters — causing those who were singing its praises all along to face palm like Captain Picard. Not only did The Marvels manage to knock the immortally popular Moana from the Mouse House platform’s top spot, it’s also been confirmed as the most popular movie on streaming period over the week of its release.
This is an impressive shift of fortunes for the Nia Da Costa movie, turning it into the little Marvel film that could and maybe even dispelling the notion that the MCU is done for. Unfortunately, when you put The Marvels‘ streaming success in a larger context, it suddenly seems much less impressive.
The Marvels‘ chart-topping figures pale in comparison to Guardians 3
As per data covering Feb. 5-11, The Marvels was the world’s most-watched movie on all of streaming that week, earning 558 minutes watched in its first seven days on Disney Plus. A resounding success, no? Well, yes, in microcosm. However, once you compare it to how the previous Marvel production to hit streaming did, the power of its achievement is suddenly decimated by a full two thirds.
Prior to The Marvels landing in November 2023, the last MCU film to release was May’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s no surprise that, when that film eventually debuted on Disney Plus in September, it likewise topped the streaming charts worldwide as well. In its case, though, Guardians 3 had a much grander figure to show for it. The cosmic threequel is known to have accrued a whopping 1.6 billion minutes viewed across its first seven days.
The Marvels may have topped the streaming charts too, but clearly the week of its release was far less competitive overall. For instance, in the runner-up positions for movies streamed the week of Feb. 5 were 2017 thriller American Assassin (515 minutes), animated film Orion and the Dark (389 minutes), and perennial family favorite The Super Mario Bros. Movie (356 million minutes), all available on Netflix.
As for whether its streaming win will really affect its reputation, it’s worth pointing out that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania also topped the charts last year and yet it just doomed the MCU to its first ever Razzie nominations (although it thankfully didn’t win any). The Marvels certainly doesn’t deserve all the hate it received, but sadly we can’t start calling it a redeemed success or claim that the Marvel curse is over just yet.