Disney‘s CEO Bob Iger has admitted the company’s film slate has struggled in post-pandemic times by focusing too much on quantity and not enough on quality.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, in particular, hasn’t restored its luster since the epic culmination of 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” There have been hits since COVID, like “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” But success has been wildly inconsistent as tentpoles like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “The Marvels” and “Captain America: Brave New World” were among Disney’s first comic book franchise installments to lose money since the MCU brought superhero movies in vogue.
However, Iger views “Thunderbolts”,” which debuted last weekend to $76 million, as the “first and best example” of the studio’s new priority to make better movies… even if that means there are fewer of them.
“We all know that in our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, that we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more,” Iger said during Wednesday’s investor call. “We’ve also learned over over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality. And frankly, we’ve all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much. By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe that will result in better quality. I think the first and best example is ‘Thunderbolts*.’ I feel very good about that.”
“Thunderbolts*,” which centers on lesser-known heroes compared to Captain America and Thor, started slower than most Marvel installments. But analysts believe it’ll hold steady at the box office because critics and audiences embraced the film, which boasts an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and encouraging “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls. It appears to be a step in the right direction after a string of dismally reviewed films like “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels.” Disney is also stoking interest in “Thunderbolts*” by revealing the meaning behind the asterisk in the film’s title — the ragtag group at the helm will henceforth be known as “The New Avengers.” They’ll make an appearance in 2026’s “Avengers: Doomsday.”
Disney has long been the dominant studio at the box office. However, it has failed in recent years to match its own stratospheric standards — at least commercially. But Iger believes the company’s next 18 months will resemble 2019, a banner period for the Magic Kingdom. In that year, Disney earned $11.12 billion globally, by far the biggest result in history by a single studio, as seven blockbusters grossed at least $1 billion.
“I have a lot of confidence that are upcoming slate,” Iger said, referring to films like “Lilo & Stitch,” “Zootopia 2,” “Fantastic Four: The First Steps” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which will close out 2025. Then in 2026, there’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Toy Story 5.”
“That’s quite a lineup,” he said, adding it’s “as strong as any slate that I’ve seen in a long time.”
From Variety US