How did Marvel come to rule the movies? And can its superheroes stay on top?
SINCE 1939, Marvel Comics has told hundreds of fantastic tales of superheroes battling to save the planet. But its fight to dominate pop culture is an epic in itself, involving censorship and a bankruptcy that left the company without many of its prized characters. Its latest film, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, took in $90m in box-office sales in the United States and Canada over the Labour Day weekend, despite the spread of covid-19 dampening cinema-goers’ enthusiasm.
But after raising too much debt, a poorly judged attempt to invest in the toy business, and a downturn in the comic-book market, the company filed for bankruptcy in 1996. Marvel survived the 1990s, but was emaciated. It had sold the film and TV rights to its most popular character, Spider-Man, to Sony for less than $10m plus royalties. The rights to other characters, as well as a theme park, were carved up.
True to their name, The Avengers, Marvel’s team of superheroes, struck back. The Marvel Cinematic Universe , a collection of 25 films and four television series released since 2008, has earned over $23bn at the box office, more than twice the amount earned by Star Wars, its closest competitor. It tells a sprawling tale which, like the comics, has no isolated entries or characters. In 2019 “”, became the highest grossing film in history , taking in $2.8bn.
As the MCU expands, it grows stronger. Over its first five years , the studio released an average of 1.2 films per year and earned $352m per picture in the US and Canada. In 2016-19, , the MCU released 2.75 films per year earning an average of $483m. In 2021 it will release four and break onto the small screen for the first time, with six TV series. Some growth stems from the support of Walt Disney Company, which acquired Marvel in 2009 for $4bn.
Although other franchises have tried to emulate Marvel’s model over the past decade, none has succeeded. But Marvel’s growth and cultural influence may have limits. “Black Widow”, released in July, still has not been approved for release in China, nor has “Shang-Chi”, which is primarily set in Asia and whose star was born in the Middle Kingdom. “Eternals”, set for release in November and directed by Chloe Zhao, a Chinese-born film-maker, is also yet to be approved.
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