If you want to see the power of Marvel at the domestic box office, look no further than the numbers that their film releases grossed in 2021. The year saw the box office trying to return to form after being shuttered in 2020 due to the pandemic and while there is still some work to be done, Marvel proved to be pretty immune to any limitations created by the global health crisis, given the percent of the box office their movies took in.
According to The Wrap, 30% of the total U.S. box office was made up of Marvel films. Marvel began their impressive run this year with the release of Black Widow which took in $183.6 million domestically by the end of its run. This is considered on the lower end for Marvel but the film was also available on Disney+ for a premium charge and that likely hampered its theatrical box office take a bit. Following Black Widow was Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which proved to be even more successful with a final take of $224.5 million. While Venom: Let there Be Carnage isn’t 100% MCU, the Sony Pictures release is under the Marvel banner and the film gave the industry a big boost when it registered the biggest opening of the pandemic (until the arrival of Spider-Man: No Way Home) with a $90 million debut before finishing its run with $212.5 million. The MCU returned in November with the release of Eternals, which managed to gross $164.6 million despite polarizing reviews from critics.
The popularity of Spider-Man: No Way Home gave Marvel a huge boost the last few weeks as the film has pulled in a massive domestic gross of $609.8 million and counting. According to The Wrap, combined with the four other Marvel movies from 2021, Marvel’s box office share was “higher than the market share for any studio in 2021.” No matter how you may feel about Marvel, there is no denying that they have contributed greatly to helping the box office recover and that is likely not to change in 2022 as they have even more high-profile releases on deck.
What are YOUR thoughts on Marvel making up a significant portion of the 2021 U.S. box office total?