Jon Erlichman

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With Captain Marvel expected to top this weekend’s box office, Walt Disney Co. is set to reach another movie milestone.  A number one debut for the film would represent Marvel’s 21st straight opening weekend win for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

To be clear, that’s 21 movie releases.  And 21 consecutive opening weekend victories.

“Marvel has been hugely important to Disney’s box office dominance over the past several years,” Paul Sweeney, senior media analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, told BNN Bloomberg in an email. “Disney has demonstrated its ability to mine the Marvel universe of characters that resonate with audiences the world over.”

While Disney had big hopes for Marvel when it acquired the business for US$4 billion in 2009, few could have predicted such consistent box office dominance.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is carefully managed by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, weaves together a collection of Marvel movies that began a decade ago with Iron Man and eventually spawned the Avengers films, which feature high-profile ensemble casts.

The approach has helped Disney win the loyalty of younger moviegoers, who are key to success in today's film business.

“Domestic box office attendance is now more than 65 per cent under the age of 24 and comic book tent-pole films have proven they can dominate global box office returns,” media expert Porter Bibb of MediaTech Capital Partners told BNN Bloomberg in an email.

The first 20 Marvel films collectively generated a whopping US$17.5 billion in worldwide box office revenue. And theatre operators have confidently predicted Captain Marvel will continue Disney’s blockbuster run.

"Pre-sales for Captain Marvel were already tracking ahead of Black Panther weeks before its release, and given the fact that Black Panther was one of the highest-grossing titles ever in North America we are optimistic that the Marvel franchise’s first female-led film is going to be a win across the board," Ellis Jacob, president and CEO of Cineplex, told BNN Bloomberg in an email.

Industry watchers note that box office success often ends up being just the first boost to Disney’s bottom line.

“The merchandising and theme park attractions from the Marvel franchises produce far more profits than the films themselves,” according to MediaTech’s Bibb.

On Disney’s recent earnings call with analysts, CEO Bob Iger, who led the acquisition of Marvel, noted the significance of this being the studio’s first female led superhero film. And beyond offering a storyline that could appeal to a wider audience, Captain Marvel will also be the first Disney film to stream exclusively on its new streaming service, Disney+.

Disney will unveil the service at its investor day in April, following its 2017 decision to end its longtime streaming partnership with Netflix Inc.

“As licensing deals with other streaming services like Netflix run out, we expect most of the Disney content will find a permanent home on its streaming service,” said Bloomberg Intelligence’s Sweeney.