The Marvels' Initial Rotten Tomatoes Score Continues A Worrying MCU Trend

"The Marvels" is the latest big-screen addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing together three of the franchise's most powerful heroines. Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) have to unite to figure out the mystery of their entangled powers while overcoming the dangerous Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton). Unfortunately, for one reason or another, it doesn't seem that "The Marvels" is hitting the right notes with those on Rotten Tomatoes. As its theatrical run begins, it's already facing a pretty disappointing score on the site.

At the time of this writing, "The Marvels" is at a 58% rotten critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. This makes it the third MCU project from 2023 to receive such a designation, with "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" (46%) and the Disney+ series "Secret Invasion" (54%) being the other two. "The Marvels" is now the third MCU film overall to end up with a rotten critic score alongside the aforementioned "Quantumania" and 2021's "Eternals." The latter film is sitting at 47% as of publication.

With "The Marvels" firmly in rotten territory, it has not only kept up the worrying trend of recent MCU productions struggling with Rotten Tomatoes critics, but it has made 2023 an infamous year for the franchise on the website.

Throughout 2023, the MCU has grown at the movies and on the Disney+ streaming service. It has introduced new characters, delved deeper into established ones, and changed the status quo in ways big and small. However, just because the minds at Marvel Studios have made an effort to do these things doesn't mean they've done them well in the eyes of critics. As the year draws to a close, only two MCU projects, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "Loki" Season 2, have managed to stay away from a rotten critic score. As previously stated, the year's other three haven't, making 2023 the MCU's worst-performing year on Rotten Tomatoes.

Before "The Marvels" brought the MCU's rotten 2023 project count to three, the year was tied with 2017 for the title of worst-rated year. Though it brought out critical favorites like "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," "Spider-Man: Homecoming," and "Thor: Ragnarok," that year also featured two infamously maligned MCU efforts. First up is the Netflix series "Iron Fist," which scored an atrocious 20% critic score for its debut season that year. Then there's the short-lived "Inhumans" TV adaptation that outdid "Iron Fist" Season 1 by crashing and burning with an 11% rating.

Hopefully, "The Marvels" is the last rotten MCU project for a while. Surely, those at Marvel Studios are going to make it a priority to win back the favor of critics in 2024.