Media giant The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was one of several companies that used the annual San Diego Comic Con to highlight upcoming releases and play movie trailers for the first time. The company utilized the event as a way to highlight the planned Phase 5 for its Marvel Cinematic Universe and provide a brief look at what’s ahead in Phase 6.
What Happened: Since buying out Marvel in 2009, Disney has used the comic book brand as one of its key drivers of content for movie theaters and of recent for its Disney+ streaming platform.
Marvel announced at San Diego Comic Con that its Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will end with the release of “She-Hulk” on Disney+ and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in theaters.
Here’s a look at what Marvel has planned for Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe:
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania: Releasing in theaters on Feb. 17, 2023, features Kang the Conqueror as the villain and kicks off Phase 5 of the MCU.
Secret Invasion: Coming to Disney+ in spring 2023, the show centers on the Marvel characters Nick Fury and Maria Hill.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Set for release in theaters May 5, 2023, the third Guardians movie is one of the most anticipated pieces of Phase 5.
The Marvels: Set for theatrical release on July 28, 2023, The Marvels includes Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, two characters previously seen in Marvel works.
Echo: Releasing on Disney+ in summer 2023 and features Maya Lopez, the antagonist in the “Hawkeye” series on Disney+.
Loki Season 2: Second season comes to Disney+ in summer 2023.
Blade: Set for a theatrical release of Nov. 3, 2023, Blade is a highly anticipated remake of a property that previously had its rights outside of Disney.
Ironheart: Coming to Disney+ in fall 2023, Ironheart centers on Riri Williams, a character that plays a pivotal role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Agatha: Coven of Chaos: Coming to Disney+ in winter 2023, the series is a spinoff of a character from “WandaVision.”
Captain America: New World Order: As previously rumored, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has taken on the role of Captain America. The character, who was the focus of the show “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Disney+, is set to star in the fourth Captain America solo movie.
Daredevil: Born Again: One of the most anticipated Disney+ shows will be the new telling of Daredevil, which was previously the focus of a series from Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX). The show is set for a spring 2024 release and has 18 episodes ordered for its first season.
Thunderbolts: Set to end Phase 5 will be Thunderbolts, a take on some knockoff Avengers, made up of antiheroes and reformed supervillains.
Marvel has not announced its full lineup for Phase 6 but shared at San Diego Comic Con that the next phase will include “Fantastic Four” and two Avengers movies.
“Fantastic Four” was previously a part of the Fox lineup, with the media company owning the rights to Fantastic Four and X-Men. Both brands are now in the Disney lineup thanks to an acquisition. “Fantastic Four” is set for a Nov. 28, 2024 release date in theaters.
“Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” is set for a May 2, 2025 theatrical release.
“Avengers: Secret Wars” is set for a Nov. 7, 2025 theatrical release.
Related Link: More R Rated Content Hits Disney+: What Superhero Movies Got Added
Why It’s Important: Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con presentations showed an exciting lineup of potential blockbuster films, along with an increased focus on launching original content on Disney+. The balance could be one of the biggest items to watch going forward as Disney looks to capitalize on using its huge brands of Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and others to create content both theatrically and for its streaming platform.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have grossed $10.6 billion domestically from 32 releases, according to data from BoxOfficeMojo. This makes Marvel the top grossing franchise of all-time.
The total includes several re-releases and several Spider-Man movies that are part of a joint partnership between Disney and Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY).
The release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” could provide a big boost to Disney to end the year with the sequel among the most anticipated 2022 theatrical titles. The original “Black Panther” is the third highest grossing domestic Marvel movie at $700.1 million. The movie, released in 2018, grossed $1.35 billion worldwide. The movie ranks fifth all time in domestic theatrical gross and 13th worldwide.
While Phase 5 has several potential hits, investors and movie lovers were also likely drawn to the announcement that Phase 6 will have two Avengers titles and both will release in the same calendar year. This means Disney could absolutely dominate the box office for the year. Disney splits its fiscal year at the end of September or start of October, which will place the two Avengers movies in different fiscal years, which could also provide a boost to Disney’s financial results.
Here's a look at past Avengers movies and their dominant box office results:
“Avengers Endgame” 2019: $858.4 million domestically, $1.94 billion internationally, $2.80 billion worldwide, $357.1 million domestic opening. Ranks first all-time for domestic opening, ranks second all-time domestically and second all-time worldwide gross.
“Avengers: Infinity War” 2018: $678.8 million domestically, $1.37 billion internationally, $2.05 billion worldwide, $257.7 million domestic opening. Ranks sixth all-time domestically, fifth all-time worldwide, and third for domestic opening.
“The Avengers” 2012: $623.4 million domestically, $895.5 million internationally, $1.52 billion worldwide. Ranks 10th all-time domestically and ninth all-time worldwide.
“Avengers: Ague of Ultron” 2015: $459.0 million domestically, $943.8 million internationally, $1.40 billion worldwide.
DIS Price Action: Disney shares are up 0.2% to $102.97 on Monday versus a 52-week range of $90.23 to $160.32.
Photo: Courtesy of David Brat on flickr
