The Marvels star says movie’s box office failure is Bob Iger’s issue

The Marvels star Iman Vellani shut down a question about the film’s box office failure in a recent interview.

Ms Marvel’s Vellani, 21, appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) latest entry alongside Brie Larson and WandaVision’s Teyonah Paris.

Since its release in cinemas earlier this month, the film has claimed the unfortunate title for worst opening weekend in the MCU’s 32-film history.

“I don’t want to focus on something that’s not even in my control, because what’s the point?” Vellani told Yahoo! of the film’s performance. “That’s for [Disney CEO] Bob Iger.”

The Marvels took $47m (£38m) in the US on its opening weekend (10 November) against a reported budget of at least $220m (£176m). It has gone on to make $161m (£129m) worldwide, leading some publications to label it a box office bomb.

“[The box office] has nothing to do with me,” Vellani added. “I’m happy with the finished product, and the people that I care about enjoyed the film. It’s genuinely a good time watching this movie, and that’s all we can ask for with these films.

Brie Larson fronts ‘The Marvels’ alongside Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris

(Laura Radford/Marvel Studios)

“It has superheroes, it takes place in space, it’s not that deep and it’s about teamwork and sisterhood. It’s a fun movie, and I’m just so happy that I can share it with people.”

Before its release, The Marvels was predicted to do poorly at the box office due to fan complaints of “Marvel fatigue”.

Following reports of its box office bust, the film’s failure was celebrated by internet trolls. Prolific horror author Stephen King came to its defence, suggesting that “some of the rejection of The Marvels may be adolescent fanboy hate”.

“You know, ‘Yuck! GIRLS!’” he said. “Why gloat over failure?”

DaCosta made history as the youngest and first Black female Marvel director for the film. Led by Larson, the movie sees her superhero Captain Marvel team up with Vallani’s Ms Marvel and Paris’s Monica Rambeau as their powers become entangled.

While it’s been panned by several critics who found the film to be a “disjointed mess” with a “rushed” final act, The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey disagreed, claiming that DaCosta had “been thrown under the bus”.

“This poorly promoted sequel is marvelous,” she wrote in her four-star review.

The Marvels is in cinemas now.