In a claim that could only fool an entertainment journalist, Disney CEO Bob Iger has blamed COVID for the poor box-office performance of The Marvels, saying that there was a lack of supervision on the set of the film as a result of the COVID pandemic.
Bob Iger spoke at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit this week where he touched on numerous topics, including The Marvels.
The feminist superhero movie starring Brie Larson has flopped with audiences worldwide. The title has grossed just $78 million domestically after three weeks in cinemas, with total worldwide revenue currently standing at $188 million.
With a budget estimated to be close to $300 million, the movie is highly unlikely to break even at the box office — the latest black eye for the beleaguered Walt Disney Company.
Instead of citing the poor script, superhero fatigue, or public disenchantment with the woke Disney brand , Iger blamed COVID.
“The Marvels was shot during COVID,” Iger said, according to a CNBC report. “There wasn’t as much supervision on the set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] really looking over what’s being done day after day after day.”
Various reports have stated the movie began filming in late July 2021 — well after the pandemic had subsided.
There are plenty of examples of movies that filmed closer to the pandemic that have succeeded at the box office, including Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and Disney Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Iger vaguely addressed the box-office flops that have piled up on his watch. They include the latest Indiana Jones, Thor, and Ant-Man sequels.
“I don’t want to apologize for making sequels,” he reportedly said.
“Some of them have done extraordinarily well and they’ve been good films, too. I think there has to be a reason to make them, you have to have a good story. And often the story doesn’t hold up to is not as strong as the original story. That can be a problem.”
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