Those who did show up for “The Marvels” on Friday appear to be less than enthusiastic about the movie. The MCU’s latest effort was awarded a B CinemaScore from audiences — a below-average grade for superhero films. With that score, “The Marvels” joins the company of “Green Lantern,” “Catwoman,” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” On the other hand, “The Marvels” does have a 62% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an 85% audience score. However, all this data suggests that, at best, the film has received a mixed reception from moviegoers.
The film did have a fan in Looper critic Reuben Baron, who gave Brie Larson’s latest a 7/10 rating. Still, even they couldn’t move past the idea of “The Marvels” being a safe, repetitive entry in a franchise that seems more interested in the next thing than the project it’s currently showcasing. “As it teleports back and forth between interplanetary set-pieces, it’s entertaining enough that you can’t be too bothered that it’s barely about anything and that it can’t find the focus to really commit to the things it’s almost about,” they wrote.
Sure, “The Marvels” has a few cheering it on, but it simply can’t be understated just how devastating this is for a picture that cost $220 million. Internationally, the film is just not faring well, which means there’s a strong chance that it will be a rare flop for the MCU. Consider this: it’s on track to take somewhere north of $11 million in China this weekend — the first “Captain Marvel” made $89 million during its Chinese box office debut.
