Reflecting on the disappointing box office for The Marvels, star Teyonah Parris shares her thoughts on why she thinks the MCU movie failed.

MCU star Teyonah Parris addressed how she thinks negativity surrounding The Marvels impacted the movie’s chance at success at the box office. Parris plays Monica Rambeau, one of the three leads of The Marvels, alongside Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel and Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel. Despite being a sequel to the hugely successful Captain Marvel, The Marvels was a major disappointment at the box office for the MCU.

In a recent interview with People, Teyonah Parris discussed how she thinks negativity surrounding The Marvels before and after its release could have impacted the film’s performance. She also urged audiences to make up their own minds about movies before listening to negativity second hand. Parris’ comments on The Marvels can be seen below:

I think there was a lot of talk, and people hadn’t seen it. So that’s frustrating, when people comment on things they haven’t actually experienced. There’s a lot of people who put a lot of their time, spirit and talent into bringing this forward… I would hope that people would give it a fair shot by just seeing it or trying it … You do not have to like something, but give it a chance by actually seeing it and forming your own opinion. And if you did, then that’s fair. That’s how you feel, and I cannot take that from you.

It’s clear that Parris isn’t saying people needed to like The Marvels, or that she is trying to change anyone’s mind if they saw it and didn’t enjoy it. However, the actress is clear that she thinks audiences should form opinions based on their own experiences with a movie instead of judging it before it has even been released.

Why The Marvels Bombed At The Box Office

There Were A Multitude Of Factors That Led To The MCU Movie’s Failure

One possible factor for The Marvels not succeeding at the box office could have been the lack of press surrounding the movie. Due to the 2023 labor strikes, the film’s stars weren’t able to promote the movie, something Parris touched on in her People interview:

I haven’t actually done a full press run where I get to engage one-on-one, in person, face-to-face with fans. I wanted to be a part of that and feel that.

This is the second time Parris has missed out on the chance at a press tour for her MCU role. Previously, WandaVision premiered while COVID-19 restrictions were still in place, preventing her from doing any in-person interviews at the time.

Aside from The Marvels not getting as much promotion, audiences are also starting to show some disinterest in superhero movies. Some attribute this to a general sense of superhero fatigue due to the non-stop production of movies and TV by both Marvel and DC. However, Disney CEO Bob Iger thinks the real problem lies with the quality of the films being put out. It’s hard to say if quality is the issue with The Marvels, however, as the film actually has a higher audience score on Rotten Tomatoes than Captain Marvel.

The Marvels seems to have released at the worst possible time to succeed.

In truth, The Marvels seems to have released at the worst possible time to succeed. It isn’t just one of these issues that contributed to its disappointing box office, but likely a combination of the lack of press tour, general superhero fatigue, and a decline in quality across MCU projects in general. While Marvel is still capable of doing good work, audiences seem less likely to give them the benefit of the doubt following disappointments like Secret Invasion and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The Marvels had a lot of negativity to battle before even being released.