The Marvel Studios Story by Charlie Wetzel

Author:Charlie Wetzel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harpercollins Leadership
Published: 2020-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

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Initial projections for the total U.S. box office of Iron Man were around $100 million.71 With toy sale revenue limited and a domestic box office that wouldn’t break even, Marvel executives were worried. They might need overseas movie sales to make any kind of profit.

The Payoff

When Iron Man opened, it made $99 million—in one weekend, almost reaching the lifetime expected revenue from U.S. sales. At that time, it was the second-highest opening weekend for a non-sequel in the United States. The record was held by another Marvel superhero movie: Spider-Man.72 It wasn’t until after that weekend that Feige realized they would be able to make more Marvel movies.73 And because Feige had thought of shooting a short scene with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury interacting with Iron Man and inserting it after the credits as an Easter egg for comic book fans, he also realized that the films they made could be linked together.74

In the end, Iron Man grossed $585M worldwide and generated more than $100 million in profits. It drove an increase of 22 percent in Iron Man comic sales. Marvel’s total revenue was increased by nearly 40 percent in 2008 to $676 million.75 And the toy manufacturers quickly jumped on board, with Iron Man performing as a perennial best-seller. Iron Man action figures by Hasbro earned $18.7 million in global retail sales between 2011–2016.76

In the wake of Iron Man’s success, Favreau said, “It was wonderful but also disorienting. Everything shifts. Everything changes a bit for everybody. It’s like a band that puts out a hit song. You go from playing in a garage to trying to figure out how you’re going to follow it up.”77 Favreau followed it up by agreeing to direct Iron Man 2, which prompted Marvel’s stock to jump 9 percent the day it was announced,78 and become a producer on six more Marvel films.79 He also created much of the blueprint that has made Marvel movies so successful. “We ended up landing a tone with Iron Man that became the formula moving forward,” said Favreau. “You want to mix great casting, stay true to the characters, a combined universe that would allow cross-pollination. And having humor and adherence to canon.”80

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