by After releasing on February 14th, “Madame Web” has made a total of 80.2 million dollars. This is their second Marvel film that has bombed at the box office, with the second being Morbius bringing in only 167 million dollars. With both of these recent films bombing at the box office, it may be time for Sony to consider to stop making Marvel films. If they want to continue to make live-action Marvel films, there may be multiple changes they could make, because what they are doing right now is not working.
Their films need to be relevant to the overall MCU
Before Avengers: Endgame, if the film was produced by Marvel, then it was pretty much guaranteed it would be a success. Both of the Venom films that Sony made both did well. Now, there are many reasons that the Venom films did better than other Marvel films that Sony made. One of those reasons is because Venom was relevant to the MCU since there is going to be a crossover in the next Spider-Man Movie, as teased in Spider-Man: No Way Home’s post credit scene.
Most viewers of Marvel films are hoping there will be crossovers between the universes. We first saw this in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the film did amazing. If Sony could strike a deal with Marvel where their characters could make appearances in the main-stream MCU, then Sony’s films are much more likely to do better at the box office. As of now, each of these films that Sony makes just feels like they are solo movies that could easily be skipped.
The script needs to be better
One of the main complaints that I have heard about Morbius and Madame Web is that the script is bland and sounds like it was written by AI. The scripts for the Venom films were great, and therefore the films did much better. Sony needs to hire good writers that can make interesting and exciting stories that audiences are interested in watching. Once you have a good script, then the actors will have to do their part in producing good acting.
Advertise, Advertise, Advertise
Sony needs to market their films out the the public more than they do currently. I know a lot of people who had no idea when Madame Web was going to come out. If films aren’t advertised, then people won’t know when the films are going to be released in theaters, and therefore the film’s box office numbers will be very low.
Focus on Popular Characters
While Spiderman may be in the current mainstream MCU, Sony still owns rights to many Marvel characters that people want to see in live-action. I can think of very few people who were actually interested in seeing a Madame Web film. For example, I personally think a lot of people would love to see a live-action Miles Morales film. If produced and written well, that type of film could be a box office hit, just like the animated Spider-Verse films that they have been working on.
Conclusion
Sony has always wanted to cash in on the popularity of Marvel, and in the past, they have been able to do that. If they are able to change some of the things that they are currently doing, they may be able to create their own Marvel Universe that could be successful. But as of right now, it does not look good for Sony’s Marvel Universe.
The next movie in the Sony Marvel Universe is going to be Kraven the Hunter, releasing on August 30th, 2024.
