When Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home were released in 2019, Marvel Studios could still do no wrong. The Infinity Saga was over, but ending with two record-breaking hits set the stage for what should have been a similarly successful Multiverse Saga.
While this era of storytelling hasn't been the disaster some would have you believe, for the first time, the MCU has delivered several critical and commercial disappointments.
At former Disney CEO Bob Chapek's insistence, Marvel Studios was tasked with producing as much content as possible. That meant upping the number of movies released each year, and dropping multiple TV shows and Special Presentations on Disney+. Quantity over quality became a problem, and the impact of the pandemic and general superhero fatigue has done little to help matters.
Marvel Studios is now looking to right the ship, with only two movies set to be released this year (Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day) and one in 2027 (Avengers: Secret Wars).
The Wrap has taken a deep dive into the MCU's future, speaking with industry experts who have shared their assessment of where things currently stand with the franchise.
"I don’t think the success of Phase 3 is replicable," Dave Gonzales, co-author of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, told the trade. "The post-'Endgame' era can best be characterized as I think ultimately damaged by the greater streaming wars that Disney found itself in. I think there was sort of a degradation of trust in the brand and then a dilution of quality through having to output far too much product."
Paul Degarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, added, "2026 may be the most important year for the MCU other than its inception. Phase 6 is vitally important if there’s gonna be a Phase 7. Response by the fans and the box office dipped with 'Captain America: Brave New World' back in February this year."
"I think 'Thunderbolts' and 'Fantastic Four' both did great, but again, we have to reset our expectations on what the MCU will deliver in today’s movie marketplace. The bread-and-butter Marvel films are hopefully making a big comeback because the titles that are on the calendar for the future look, at least on paper, incredibly strong and could once again mark a return to the glory days of the $1 billion global box office."
Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock believes $1.5 billion for the next Avengers and Spider-Man movies is highly likely, with Brand New Day potentially "the biggest movie of the summer." Dergarabedian agreed, stating, "They’re really going all-in on the big brands, the tried-and-true sort of bulletproof brands. But when you look at that, there’s no ‘Dog ate my homework’ excuse if those don’t perform."
The trade has also shared some interesting data, revealing that the average worldwide gross for an Infinity Saga movie was $982 million, with an average $135 million domestic opening and 55.58% second-weekend drop. For the Multiverse Saga, those figures have dipped to $706 million, $126 million, and 63.66%.
There's clearly work to be done, and while the MCU is obviously going to survive beyond Avengers: Secret Wars, what it looks like could hinge on the next couple of years. While no release dates have been announced, we know Marvel Studios will initially be relying on big franchises like X-Men and Black Panther.