In the Marvel Comics Universe, anything less than $US1 billion ($1.53 billion) at the box office is considered a disappointment. The firm’s record is held by Avengers: Endgame (2019), which made a staggering $US2,797,501,328, placing it a narrow second to James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) on the all-time top earners list. It must have been devastating when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (2023) garnered a paltry $US845 million. One wonders how they could live with the embarrassment.

The tremors were a little more serious with The Marvels (2023). Although it earned $US199 million, the break-even point was allegedly $US439 million. Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) was also a bit of a dud, making $US463 million, which left it $US136 million short of a break-even. All told, 2023 was a poor year for the MCU. To put that into perspective, the top grossing Australian film for 2023 was the documentary John Farnham: Finding the Voice, which made $4,496,883. This means that Marvel’s biggest flop earned roughly 68 times more than our biggest success. It is, indeed, a different universe.