The world's biggest box office bomb lost nearly Rs 2000 crore at the box office, a figure many times any of Bollywood's biggest flop films
Over the last two years, Indian cinema has seen its two biggest flop films. In terms of money lost at the box office, Adipurush and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan are at the top with both losing over Rs 200 crore. However, the figure pales in comparison with the amount that the world’s biggest flop film lost. Coming from a studio that had only given hits till then, this film tanked like nothing before, putting the future of the franchise at risk
1. Biggest flop film ever
)
The Marvels, an MCUsuperhero film that released last year, has emerged as the first-ever box office flop of the franchise. It became the first MCU film ever to stay below $100 million in box office earnings in North America, a dubious distinction
2. How much money The Marvels lost
)
As per trade estimates published by Variety, The Marvels had a notional loss of $237 million (Rs 2000 crore) at the box office, the highest ever. It broke the record of the 2012 box office bomb John Carter, which lost $220 million
3. The Marvels’ loss compared to Indian films
)
In comparison, Indian films’ box office losses seem tiny. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, for instance, lost Rs 250 crore while Adipurush had reported losses of Rs 225 crore. Even if we add these (along with the number three entry on the list Ganapath), the figure only comes to Rs 665 crore, one-third of the loss suffered by The Marvels
4. Why did The Marvels flop so badly
)
The Marvels had mixed reviews but MCU films with worse reviews have fared better, which contributed to its below-par performance. Many have argued that the film’s failure is due to a superhero fatigue in the audience. Disney, however, lay the blame on the film’s makers
5. When Disney blamed the director for The Marvels failure
)
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement that the film’s failure was due to their executives not supervising the project well, implying that director Nia DaCosta was to be blamed. Many industry insiders defended DaCosta from the thinly-veiled attack
6. The Marvels’ star Brie Larson’s MCU future
)
Many have wondered if the box office failure of The Marvels means the end of the road for its protagonist Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson. At the SAG Awards 2024, when asked about her return, the actress simply said, “I don’t have anything to say about that.”
