A Marvel film became a financial disaster for Disney

We recently reported that the Marvel film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was ultimately a bitter financial loss despite government support.

Now new numbers have emerged that make it clear how bad the 2023 cinema year went for Disney overall. Here too, an MCU strip plays the tragic leading role. But Harrison Ford's last appearance in his signature role was also a shot in the oven from a financial perspective.

That's how bad 2023 went for Disney and Co.

A new report The industry magazine Deadline has revealed which films failed at the box office last year. And that's not all: What makes the numbers so special is the fact that they also include secondary exploitation via streaming.

Four of the five financial fiascos come from Disney. At one point, competitor Warner Bros. and DC are also represented. Let's go through the list together:

The Marvels

The MCU film starring Carol Danvers, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau only managed to gross just under $206 million at the box office.

Interesting here: The cinema revenue is only 88 million US dollars, while the income from making the film available as a rental or purchase on streaming platforms amounts to 90 million US dollars. So The Marvels has grossed more money in secondary release than in the cinema.

But that doesn't change the fact that the film was really, really expensive for Disney. Because given production costs of $270 million, an advertising budget of $110 million and other expenses The Marvels ended up making a loss of $237 million.

5:11

The Marvels: Disney takes a look behind the scenes of the latest Marvel film on Disney Plus

The Flash

Let's continue with the Marvel competitor DC. He brought the often postponed The Flash to the cinema in 2023 and attracted, among other things, the big comeback of Michael Keaton as Batman.

But even this high dose of nostalgia couldn't save the film. Box office revenue of $271 million and additional income resulted in a respectable total of $250 million – but expenses were significantly higher at $405 million.

With an ultimate one Loss of $155 million The Flash probably doesn't have the film studio Warner Bros flashed.

2:56

Batman in The Flash? The trailer from that time is always a feast for fans of Michael Keaton!

Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fortune

Harrison Ford loved the script for his latest Indy adventure. But that didn't help the film made by director James Mangold (Logan, Le Mans 66).

Indy 5 did well at the box office: 384 million US dollars were grossed, of which 173 million remained in Disney's cash reserves. The streaming business also did well and generated another $120 million in revenue.

But horrendous production costs of $300 million and an expensive marketing campaign not only completely ate up this cash supply, they even completely tilted the balance sheet. In the end, Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fortune was for Disney a $143 million loss.

1:52

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Wish

It feels like not a year goes by without a new animated film from Disney. 2023 was no exception. Wish tells the story of the young lady Asha, who has to save her home from an evil king and in the end proves that all wishes can come true.

All except Disney's desire for Wish to be a financial success. Meager cinema revenues of $106 million and also only mediocre secondary releases via streaming etc. mean that the total revenues of $231 million are offset by an impressive $362 million in expenses.

This shows once again how expensive animated films are, especially in production. Disney will probably wish that the next film doesn't have one Loss of $131 million brings home.

2:23

From the makers of Moana: Wishes really do come true in the trailer for the Disney film Wish

Haunted Mansion

The last entry in Deadline's researched list is the fourth flop for Disney in 2023. Here, however, the circumstances probably also play a part in the results. What is meant here is the historic Hollywood strike, which had a major impact on the release of Haunted Mansion.

Among other things, the cast couldn't even attend the premiere because their union membership prohibited them from doing so during the strike. Other marketing measures could not be implemented in this way either.

Ultimately, only $53 million from the cinema business flowed into Disney's coffers. The streaming business was doing a little better, but it was no longer able to pull the cart out of the mud. Given the loss of $117 million Disney probably didn't even have to watch the film to get a real scare.

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The trailer for Disney's Haunted Mansion prepares for a big haunting

Disney is already planning to correct course

Disney wants to have recognized the problem by 2023. Lots of content, little quality – the group no longer wants to be exposed to this accusation. That's why CEO Bob Iger announced cost-cutting measures that also aim to produce less content, but should be better.

At a conference in March 2024, Bob Iger upped the ante. At that time he said, among other things, regarding the recently stumbling Marvel Cinematic Universe:

At least at Marvel, people seem to have internalized this motto proclaimed by the top boss. In 2024, only one MCU film will be released, namely Deadpool & Wolverine.

The trailer already broke records and fans online are really excited about the film. It is therefore quite possible that Bob Iger's assumption above is confirmed and that the audience simply needs a more moderate dosage to get the desire to go to the cinema again.