Disney to cut production of Marvel films and TV shows amid superhero fatigue

Disney will cut production of Marvel films and TV series amid concerns that so-called superhero fatigue is exhausting demand for the studio’s work. Bob Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said the company would “reduce output and focus more on quality” particularly when it came to Marvel, known for franchises such as The Avengers and Black Panther. It came as worse-than-expected subscriber numbers for the Disney Plus streaming service and a slowdown in its traditional broadcast television business sent shares falling by more than 10pc. Marvel films have dominated the box office in the last decade and a half, with 33 films released since 2008. But recent releases such as The Marvels and a third Ant-Man film have underperformed, leading to concerns that cinemagoers have fallen out of love with the franchise. The Marvels, the studio’s most recent film, generated just $206.1m (£165m) at the Box Office, less than its $274m production budget. It was the lowest-grossing film in the franchise’s history, bringing in less than a tenth of its most successful title, 2019’s Avenger’s: Endgame. Mr Iger said Disney would release two or three Marvel films a year, compared to a previous average of four, and cut TV series from four...

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