A ton of ink has been spilled, pontificating about what is wrong with Marvel. Following the lukewarm reaction to Thor: Love and the Thunder and Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as well as the box office failure of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, many observes have wondered if the dreaded “superhero fatigue” has finally set in.
For his part, Disney CEO Bob Iger found a different culprit at the bottom of Marvel’s struggles- Disney+.
In a recent wide-ranging interview, Iger stated that there have been too many Marvel series on Disney+, which have “diluted focus and attention” from fans.
An Astronomical Cost
Looking closely at the Disney+ series, it becomes clear that the problem is more than just how many Marvel series Disney is creating, but how much those shows cost.
Due to UK filming rules, Disney recently disclosed that Secret Invasion had a production budget of $212 million. That puts the series on par with the biggest Hollywood blockbusters.
In this new era of streaming, Disney simply cannot spend that much on a streaming show. $212 million for a show devoid of much of the big CGI battle scenes hardly makes sense.
‘Secret Invasion’s’ Insane Budget
The series was advertised as a down to Earth spy-thriller, a character study, and a breath of fresh air from the increasingly more cosmic threats of the MCU.
Not only does the budget not make sense for the product that Marvel was trying to create, but Disney isn’t even getting results.
Secret Invasion’s premiere was the second-lowest Disney+ premiere, topping only Ms. Marvel. The show managed ratings that were half of Moon Knight and close to a third of Loki.
Based on products like Secret Invasion, it is clear that Disney and Marvel are going to have to change course. A diluted product or not, there is simply no reason that Secret Invasion should cost what it did.
Bob Iger has talked about “spending less to make less”, and projects like Secret Invasion are the reason why.
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