From Gaius Bolling

Looking at all of the headlines for the box office performance of The Marvels since its opening weekend has been a truly dismal experience. There are those who seem to be having fun watching Marvel experiencing a level of failure that is foreign to them while others are tossing the blame in the direction of the film's apparent "woke agenda" (it really doesn't have one). There are angles on superhero and Marvel fatigue and others on the lack of promotion due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. All of that will likely generate considerable clicks but what most are missing is what the opening weekend means for director Nia DaCosta. The opening actually set a new standard for black female directors but it might shine a light on the lack of chances they tend to get to direct big tentpole releases.

The $110 million worldwide opening is actually the biggest debut for a Black female director to date. This narrative has seemingly been ignored when reporting any of the box office news for The Marvels. It's more eye-catching to speak of The Marvels as a failure and a continued sign of the downward trend of the Marvel brand but DaCosta still deserves this moment to shine in a positive light. Even if most trades are choosing to ignore it.

DaCosta first came to the attention of cinephiles when she wrote and directed the crime thriller Little Woods in 2018. After premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, the film was awarded the Nora Ephron Award for "excellence in storytelling by a female writer or director." It was the kind of indie critical darling that made DaCosta one to watch and critics were equally impressed with her debut. Also impressed with her debut was Jordan Peele, who was producing a "spiritual sequel" to 1992's Candyman. DaCosta was ultimately chosen to helm the project which led to her earning a first for a Black female director.

Candyman was released in 2021 to mostly positive reviews and despite opening as movie theaters were still adjusting to the effects of the pandemic, the film debuted at number one with a gross of $22 million. With this accomplishment, DaCosta became the first Black female director to have a film place number one at the box office. It was a narrative that the trades proudly publicized, particularly since Candyman was well-received. That was the biggest angle to take from its box office start and that's what they chose to run with. Too bad this isn't happening with the performance of The Marvels.

That's not to say that the underperformance of the film should be ignored. It is a story, especially since Marvel isn't really used to seeing films struggle at the box office. The argument being made here is that it shouldn't be the ONLY story. Negative stories seem to get more clicks at times and that is what many will go with in order to get more traffic. The fact that no one is really empowering DaCosta for this achievement is truly unfortunate. Had The Marvels had a smaller budget and didn't have so much other negativity attached to it, perhaps her latest feat at the box office would be celebrated. Instead, it has all been about failure and what that means for Marvel. DaCosta should also be the story here and not for what usually happens if a film should underperform.

What we hopefully don't see is DaCosta being looked over for other big projects because this one has been deemed a failure. It's already hard for female directors to be given films with exceptional budgets now imagine being a female director of color. Suddenly those challenges are intensified and the opportunities become less if the industry judges you by a failure rather than your successes. She certainly doesn't deserve to hold the blame for why this film didn't blow up at the box office. There are so many external forces at play here that DaCosta couldn't control them even if she tried. She came in. Did the work and gave the studio a film they wanted. 

The $110 million worldwide debut being the biggest debut for a Black female director also makes it glaringly obvious that more opportunities should be given to them to direct bigger studio films if this figure, which is relatively low by blockbuster standards, is the threshold that needs to be broken. It's something to be proud of for sure but it also shows that there is so much more work to be done. What won't help matters is if the narrative continues to focus on the negative. Marvel might be in an awkward transitional period but DaCosta is breaking down barriers. Even if the media is choosing to ignore it.

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