Marvel’s $47 Million Movie Flop Doesn’t Deserve To Be The Franchise’s Second-Worst Box Office

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The New Mutants is far from Marvel’s best film, but it doesn’t deserve its catastrophically low box office numbers. On paper, the film should’ve been a success. It starred great young talent, including The Queen’s Gambit’s Anya Taylor-Joy, Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams, and Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton. However, it ended up being a major box office bomb for Marvel.

The film came at an awkward time in the Marvel timeline, as it was in development around the time of Disney’s acquisition of Fox. This created an entirely new plan for the X-Men, which did not include The New Mutants in the canon MCU. The film was ultimately still released as the final installment in the X-Men series, receiving shocking numbers at the box office.

The New Mutants’ Box Office Is Strikingly Low

Blu Hunt's Danielle Moonstar is trapped in The New Mutants (2020)

The New Mutants only made $47 million at the worldwide box office, making it the second-worst-performing Marvel film of all time. It made nowhere near its production budget of $67-80 million, which certifies it as a box office bomb. The numbers are strikingly low, especially for a Marvel movie released in the last five years.

The film is only second in Marvel’s worst box office list to the 2008 film Punisher: War Zone, which made $10 million at the worldwide box office. To put just how bad The New Mutants’ box office numbers are into perspective, the worst-grossing film in the X-Men franchise before its release was Dark Phoenix with $252 million worldwide.

The New Mutants’ Place In Marvel’s Box Office Rankings Is Surreal Given Its Release Date

The New Mutants stand in a dark room in the hospital in The New Mutants (2020)

The fact that The New Mutants was released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has to be considered. Health restrictions meant that not everyone could make it out to see the film in theaters. In that regard, it’s somewhat impressive that The New Mutants was even able to earn what it did, making even more than most movies from decades before.

Marvel Movie	Release Year	Worldwide Box Office
Punisher: War Zone	2008	$10 million
The New Mutants	2020	$47 million
The Punisher	2004	$54 million
Elektra	2005	$56 million
Blade: Trinity	2005	$131 million

However, The New Mutants still holds its reputation as the second-worst Marvel box office of all time, which may be a surreal title given its release date. Its rocky release puts the film below the entire Sony Spider-Man Universe, which arguably features worse films. Madame Web is the lowest-grossing SSU film, but it’s still ahead of The New Mutants with $100 million.

The New Mutants’ Release Date Suggests Its Box Office Isn’t Just About The Movie Itself

Anya Taylor-Joy's Magik looks pensive in The New Mutants (2020)

The New Mutants’ box office flop can be attributed to the poor timing of its release, but part of the failure is due to its own tumultuous production timeline. The film required reshoots, and the release date was pushed back four times, moving it from its intended April 2018 to August 2020. It’s worth wondering if the film could’ve made more had it not premiered during the pandemic.

There’s no doubt that The New Mutants is far from a perfect movie. The premise is strong, but it fumbles the execution with a lack of character development and subpar script, among other things. However, the film received worse results than its overall quality arguably warrants.

The film’s low box office numbers and place in Marvel’s box office rankings are more reflective of the pandemic it was released during and less about the quality of the movie itself. While The New Mutants is definitely still flawed, it wasn’t as unfathomably bad as its shocking box office suggests.