Congratulations. You've convinced me to be less pessimistic about the MCU's future. Your arguments are really good. Very convincing. I mean, I'm still a "bit" more apprehensive than most of the posters on this thread, but so far Feige and his team haven't screwed things up thus far. Wanda being popular will help Strange's movie for sure. But non Disney Plus viewers are gonna ask: That lady has kids now? Nobody has been brought back through multiverses thus far. And I hope it stays that way. But the door has now been opened. I can't even begin to speculate what role Holland will have in future Spider-Man projects. If he retires after No Way Home, I think the movie will be quite successful like Endgame was because Tony "retired" in that one.
I get that Marvel is dominating at the box office in 2021, but I'm sure if the films are making THAT much money. They cost SO much to produce and market. Hundreds of millions of dollars each! I think Marvel movies are terrible investments if you're investors. Sure you can make money after investing in them, but because of how much they cost, you won't be making THAT much. Each Marvel movie I think has to make some 500 MILLION DOLLARS in order just to break even. I read that the Eternals made a whopping $161.7 million dollars globally on its opening weekend (which is like the GDP of a small country). But to many in Marvel world, that's seen as a failure. Zhou's Nomadland is a WAY better investment than her Eternals. Nomadland cost five million dollars to make and made forty million. Low risk and high reward. You can divide the five million amongst ten people to reduce risks for each investor and you KNOW at least SOME people will watch your movie. Marvel movies have to clear tall financial hurdles for EVERY ONE of their films. And I don't think Black Widow, Shang-Chi and Eternals are gonna be earn that much cash. I can easily see Bob Chapek and his team asking Marvel Studios to cut down their budgets in the future and that could cause tension at Disney. That's why I agreed with your earlier comments. Disney has GOT to focus on their streaming business more as time goes on. I actually still can't believe movie studios "tricked" theaters into agreeing to 45-day windows for their movies. Lots of people are gonna be ONLY watching films from the comfort of their own homes from now on.
I think the backlash against the MCU also has something to do with MCU "stans". And I get that anger. I appreciate the passion and enthusiasm MCU fandom has for Marvel movies and shows, but I think those "stans" can be EXTREMELY obnoxious and abrasive. They can't take ANY criticism of the MCU no matter how justified. Thankfully the posters here have FAR more open minds when it comes to how the MCU can be improved. I'm ALL FOR greater diversity, representation and inclusion in the MCU. It's definitely overdue. But I don't think Marvel Studios should be patting themselves on their backs because THEY'RE doing it. Other studios have been and will continue to push further on those kinds of things. I also just think it's incredibly shitty for so-called "progressive" MCU stans to demand that the movies and shows not be delayed (so they can be entertained) while showing absolutely NO SOLIDARITY with film trade workers fighting for better working conditions and hours (a VERY progressive cause in my opinion). Even if it means strikes could delay future MCU projects. And I think it's ludicrous that so many folks on social media networks are pissing on Jack Kirby's art (whose work is the source material for the Eternals movie). I actually think a lot of the backlash against toxic MCU fandom is really well-deserved and it actually hurts the MCU in the long-run:
https://www.thebulwark.com/jack-kirb...e-mcu-buzzsaw/
I just want to add that I was, am and probably always will be pro-MCU. It's just that sometimes I'm disappointed by the behavior of my fellow fans. Fortunately here on CBR, we're fans with BRAINS!