“The Marvels” director Nia DaCosta reacted after her film opened with the lowest box office ever for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After mostly positive reviews, The Marvels earned just $47 million at the domestic box office this weekend. That’s the lowest opening weekend ever for the MCU.
The film is a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, which opened to $153 million back in 2019.
At the Urbanworld Film Festival, DaCosta told the audience she initially considered passing on The Marvels.
“The Marvels was something I had to think about,” she said.
“You’re combating layers and there’s kind of more to work through, but you also get a lot more money and a lot more support. So, it’s like a give and take, and then it’s even more extreme you go into the Marvel Universe. Not just because it’s a bigger movie but the 33rd film within a universe. So, there was a so much negotiation, creatively.”
DaCosta said she doesn’t take the criticism personally.
“I was a fan of many fandoms when I was young like Marvel, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Sailor Moon. So, I’m very use to that energy. About fandom, as a fan, people want what they want. But that doesn’t have much to do with me. I just have to finish the movie. I have another film that I am making literally as soon as the strike is over. I try to focus on the work and not the response. It’s immensely healthier that way.”
She concluded:
“But obviously this is a medium in which audience matters. It’s very important that they have fun. That’s why it was very important to me that this was fun, entertaining and also heartfelt. That’s what we aim for. And then the reaction and all that stuff, I try to keep myself separate from, because once you finished the film you kind of give it to the world and they what they make of it.”
DaCosta is one of the few Black female directors who have pull in Hollywood.
