Disney CEO reveals why he thinks 'The Marvels' bombed at the box office
Disney CEO Bob Iger said it was a "definite mistake" to increase output from the company's studio division to "feed the streaming platforms."
The Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday it was a "definite mistake" to increase output from the company's studio division to "feed the streaming platforms," adding that recent Marvel projects "suffered greatly" as a result.
In an interview with financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook Summit in New York, Iger said that miscalculation was one of the reasons some of this year's Disney movies, such as "The Marvels," disappointed at the box office.
"Quality needs attention. ... It doesn't happen by accident. Quantity, in our case, diluted quality," Iger said.
"The Marvels" landed with a thud when it premiered this month, opening to just $47 million in North America — the lowest ever for a Marvel film, and a sign that some audiences may be growing weary of the superhero franchise after more than 30 installments.
Iger pointed to other reasons why "The Marvels" floundered in theaters. He said the project was shot during the Covid pandemic and "there wasn't as much supervision on the set ... where we have executives there really looking over what's being done."
Rating: 5