With an alleged running time of just 98 minutes, “The Marvels” is said to be the shortest MCU film, but is it also one of the cheapest? No, because the circulating sum of 130 million dollars is false. We explain what’s really behind it.
Does “The Marvels” really have a budget of “only” 130 million dollars and is thus one of the cheapest MCU films ever (on a par with “Ant-Man” and “Ant-Man And The Wasp”)? This is what numerous media are currently reporting with reference to a portrait of director Nia DaCosta in Vanity Fair magazine. In the meantime, however, this figure can no longer be read there – apparently it was wrong and has been removed. And there is also an obvious explanation as to where this misstatement came from.
130 MILLION FOR “THE MARVELS”? YES, BUT…
In April 2023, the business magazine Forbes, among others, reported that the production of “The Marvels” had swallowed up 130 million dollars – but after just two months of filming, from the beginning of August 2021 to mid-September 2021.
However, this does not cover all production costs by a long shot, after all, scenes were still shot afterwards and a large part of the budget for MCU films naturally also flows into visual effects and the rest of the post-production – especially for a film like “The Marvels”, which is largely set in space and on alien planets and revolves around no less than three Marvel heroines with fantastic superpowers.
So presumably the final budget of “The Marvels” may well reach the usual $200 million range, possibly even a little more. The MCU films “Thor 4: Love And Thunder”, “Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ all recently devoured 250 million dollars each. Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania” and “Doctor Strange 2” also cost 200 million each, so it seems unlikely that “The Marvels” was made much more cheaply.”
[UPDATE 21 September 2023] As reported by Forbes magazine, the budget of “The Marvels” was actually $274.8 million. With government subsidies in the UK, where most of the MCU film was shot, amounting to $55 million, the final budget of “The Marvels” is $219.8 million – very similar to all recent MCU films.
Possibly, however, “The Marvels” will at least be a little cheaper because the film is supposedly by far the shortest MCU film with a running time of 98 minutes or one hour and 38 minutes. And of course, less running time usually means fewer scenes with expensive computer effects. But that has not yet been confirmed.
What is clear in any case is that “The Marvels” is the most expensive film by a Black woman director to date, as can still be read at Vanity Fair. This title was previously held by Ava DuVernay and her film “The Time Puzzle”, which had a budget of 100 million dollars.
However, the filmmaker herself freely admits that she was by no means alone at the helm the entire time on “The Marvels”: “It’s a Kevin Feige production, it’s his film,” DaCosta told Vanity Fair. Kevin Feige has been watching over the Avengers universe as MCU architect and producer since “Iron Man”. However, she was pleased with how much she was able to put her stamp on “The Marvels”, the director said.
“The Marvels” will be released in German cinemas on 8 November 2023.
