Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels' Budget Is One of the Most Expensive In MCU History

By Nathan Johnson Updated:
Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios logo

The official budget for The Marvels was finally revealed, and it is one of the most expensive movies in the history of the MCU.

The Marvels is set to hit theaters on November 10, and director Nia DaCosta recently promised fans that the film would be "really wacky, and silly," in addition to featuring elements that fans "haven't seen before."

As the movie gets closer to coming out, its marketing and press tour will get even stronger. However, due to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, The Marvels' stars such as Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris won't be able to promote it.

The Marvels' Incredibly Expensive Budget

Brie Larson in The Marvels
Marvel

According to Forbes, the official budget for The Marvels is over $274.8 million, making it one of the most expensive MCU films to date.

This comes as a bit of a surprise seeing as how the movie is only rumored to be around 100 minutes in length (however that has not been confirmed as of yet), but the high cost is likely due to the extensive VFX work that will go into bringing it to life.

However, Forbes also reported that Disney received a $55 million subsidy from the United Kingdom government while making the film, bringing the total amount spent on The Marvels down to around $220 million.

In comparison the the budgets of other MCU films, this $274.8 million mark makes The Marvels the fourth-expensive movie in the entirety of the MCU.

Here is a full list of MCU films with budgets higher than $200 million according to The Numbers:

  1. Avengers: Endgame - $400 Million
  2. Avengers: Age of Ultron - $365 Million
  3. Avengers: Infinity War - $300 Million
  4. The Marvels - $274.8 Million
  5. Thor: Love and Thunder, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Captain America: Civil War - $250 Million
  6. The Avengers - $225 Million

Will The Marvels Be a Box-Office Success?

Due to the extremely pricey budget of The Marvels, it will be rather difficult for the film to be considered a huge financial success.

To break even, The Marvels will have to gross somewhere around $450 million at the global box office, since theaters take a cut of the earnings.

With that being said, to be viewed as a success in Disney's eyes, The Marvels will likely have to bring home at least $600 million, especially considering how profitable other Marvel Studios films have been in the past.

This upcoming movie could definitely hit that number, especially if it resonates well with fans and word-of-mouth drives casual moviegoers to the theaters to see it.

After all, Brie Larson's Captain Marvel ended up passing the $1 billion mark when it came out in 2019, so there is clearly an appeal to see her character in action.

However, it is a little worrisome due to the ties that The Marvels has with Secret Invasion, which was not viewed well at all in the eyes of viewers.

The non-diehard MCU fans who watched Secret Invasion may feel as though there are too many connections between the two projects. If they still have a bad taste in their mouths from the Disney+ show, viewers may elect to wait and watch the movie on streaming.

The opening weekend for The Marvels will likely make a decent amount of money, but the second-week numbers will be the most telling when predicting where the box office numbers will stand when the film is finished with its theatrical run.

The Marvels will be released in theaters on November 10.

- In This Article: The Marvels
Release Date
November 10, 2023
Platform
Theaters
- About The Author: Nathan Johnson
Nathan is a writer at The Direct where he covers Star Wars, the MCU, and DC news. He joined The Direct in April 2021 and currently writes news and feature articles about all three brands mentioned above, but his main specialty is his knowledge about anything and everything Star Wars.