Stephen King Reacts To The Marvels Box Office Failure & Negative Reaction

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Summary

Stephen King defends the Marvel Cinematic Universe after two of its recent films, Quantumania and The Marvels, disappoint at the box office.
King finds it distasteful that some viewers are gloating over the low box office results of The Marvels, stating that mocking movies for failing is unpleasant.
Despite not being a fan of MCU movies himself, King emphasizes that there is no reason to celebrate or gloat over the failure of a film like The Marvels.

After The Marvels collapsed at the box office, Stephen King came to the defense of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. King is a prominent author with numerous live-action theatrical adaptations of his books. His success may be continuing, but the MCU is starting to stagnate with the disappointing results of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. The latter is suffering from a weak opening weekend, having only earned $47 million domestically and $63 million internationally against its over $200 million budget.
King may not be interested in the MCU, but he is not pleased that some viewers are taking the opportunity to "gloat" about the failure. King took to Twitter to call for the mockery to stop.
The Marvels has had the worst box office results in MCU history, but King does not see that as a reason for celebration. He generally sees no reason to mock movies for failing at the box office and refers to the behavior as "very unpleasant".
Why Do People Celebrate The MCU Failing?

2022 began a slow decline for superhero movies at the box office. Both DC and Marvel have been struggling to draw the large crowds they have become accustomed to. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 proved to be the standout successes, each earning $690 million and $845 million at the box office, respectively. Other movies, including The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have fallen short of expectations.
DC is planning to change the direction of its entire universe after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Marvel is also transitioning into its Multiverse Saga.
The MCU has dominated markets since it first began in 2008. That it is starting to decline is unsurprising, given that it is currently in the midst of rebooting its roster of heroes. It is also unsurprising that there would be some backlash to a franchise that has grown so popular. Marvel's recent releases have also been less renowned among critics. The Marvels earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 63 percent, Secret Invasion earned 54 percent, and Quantumania earned 46 percent. Only Guardians earned a respectable result in 2023, boasting an 82 percent score.
Some of the "gloating" could very well be a backlash to less-popular movies that take away space in theaters from smaller productions. It could also be a consequence of the MCU diversifying its cast of characters, which has led to backlash from certain sects of audiences. The Marvels is a movie led by three women, two of whom are women of color. If any movie is to suffer from backlash due to its diversity, this project is at risk. Regardless of the reason behind the celebration, King is not pleased to see "barely masked gloating" over the failure of The Marvels and the decline of the MCU.
Source: Stephen King / Twitter
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