Is MCU Phase 4 Doomed? 'Thor: Love and Thunder' Box Office Hints at Yes
There is a really disturbing tendency that Phase Four movies show.
'Thor: Love and Thunder ' has marked its second weekend in theaters with a worrying 68% box office drop that might signal that the Marvel thunderstorm is dying down.
Despite its impressive opening, Taika Waititi 's Thor sequel does not enjoy as much public enthusiasm in following weeks – and it is not the first Phase Four movie to demonstrate such underwhelming results, with 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' earlier facing a similar decrease in ticket sales after its first week. 'Black Widow' went through a similar pattern, displaying a similar 68% week 2 drop in July 2021.
The gloomy tendency might be yet another illustration of fan frustration with the path Phase Four has chosen. Despite big ambitions and long-reaching goals, as well as a handful of new characters, it seems that Phase Four is far from topping the success of its predecessors.
The only lucky exception of Phase Four was 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' which managed to crawl its way out of the week 2 drop to become one of the highest-grossing domestic films in history.
'Thor: Love and Thunder', however, is highly unlikely to repeat this success. However, there are plenty of other big screen projects that might make things better for Phase Four, including 'Black Panther 2' that's coming in November, as well as 'Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania', 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3' and 'The Marvels ' that are set to premiere later in 2023.