Deadpool & Wolverine became the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, crossing the $1 billion mark at the global box office. 

Is it Marvel’s comeback or a final homage to 20th Century Fox‘s bygone era?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, has been struggling in recent years after the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019, when the MCU lost Robert Downey Jr.’s character Iron Man and Chris Evans’s character Captain America. Actor Chadwick Boseman, who starred as T’Challa in Black Panther, died in 2020.

Also, the MCU faced backlash from fans due to a decline in quality, characterized by directionless storytelling, lackluster creativity, and overall tediousness.

Some films, including The Marvels, Eternals, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, underperformed financially. For example, The Marvels made $200 million in the winter of 2023, which was $70 million less than it cost to produce. 

The exception was Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), in which audiences saw Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker along with Tom Holland, and fans of all three actors rushed to the movie theaters, enjoying their nostalgia. The film earned $1.92 billion worldwide as of August 2024, according to Box Office Mojo. 

One of the challenges, though, has been the push of “woke” culture. One example is the “Girlboss” character. The “Girlboss” is a “powerful woman character,” but she can be arrogant and flawless and sometimes appears to hold men in contempt. Captain Marvel, who is played by Brie Larson, and She-Hulk, who is played by Tatiana Maslany, are examples of the “Girlboss.” 

Another problem, some critics have said, is that the MCU has released too much content, including four films and five television series in 2021, and that this has led to “Marvel fatigue.” Others said the glut of TV spinoffs on Disney+ has diluted the brand and created too much lore for casual fans to keep up with.