The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2021–2023
The Marvels cost Disney $374M and lost $237M — the biggest bomb of 2023
Captain Marvel's sequel cost Disney $374M ($307M net) with a $439.6M break-even; it grossed $206.1M worldwide — a $237M net loss.
Marvel Studios · The Walt Disney Company · 2023-11-10
What happened
Captain Marvel (2019) grossed $1.1 billion, so its sequel was treated as a sure thing. The Marvels instead became Disney's most expensive 2023 misfire: Forbes broke down a $374 million total cost, reduced to $307.3 million by a $66.7 million UK tax rebate, and put the film's break-even at $439.6 million.
Released November 10, 2023, it grossed $206.1 million worldwide — under half its break-even. Deadline's annual cost analysis ranked it the biggest box-office bomb of 2023 with a net loss of $237 million, well ahead of The Flash.
The failure was economic, not critical: the film earned a B CinemaScore and 62% on Rotten Tomatoes, yet the $374 million cost meant even a good reception could not save it. Forbes' Paul Tassi put the budget at $455 million with a $500 million break-even — either way, the sequel needed to outperform its $1.1 billion predecessor just to avoid a loss.
Why it happened
- The budget was set by the predecessor's success, not the story: a $374M cost implied a $439.6M break-even, so anything short of a repeat $1.1B hit lost money by design.
- It was received decently — B CinemaScore, 62% on Rotten Tomatoes — and that was the trap: good enough to look fine, never good enough to move a $439.6M break-even.
- Disney financed at a scale where even a $206.1M worldwide gross lost $237M — the only outcome that worked was repeating the first film's $1.1B, and the plan had no answer for anything less.
The lesson
Break-even is the real budget: a $374M film that needed $439.6M still lost $237M on a $206.1M gross. Price the sequel against what audiences will pay, not what the last film earned.
Sources
- Forbes — Why 'The Marvels' Cost Disney $374 Million
- Deadline — Disney Detonates Four Bombs In Deadline's 2023 Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament
- Forbes — 'The Marvels' Reportedly Lost $237 Million Last Year, Much More Than 'The Flash'
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