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‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Disney Plus release data shows superhero fatigue is real

Not even James Gunn could save Marvel movies on Disney Plus.

Image via Marvel Studios

Maybe Disney CEO Bob Iger had a point when he announced his plans to slow down Marvel content, because it seems not many were keen to watch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on Disney Plus. James Gunn‘s final MCU story has reportedly underperformed on the platform since it release, which could hint that the superhero fatigue is here based on the story our streaming habits are telling.

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Media analytics company, Samba TV reported that only 1.3 million U.S. households watched the Guardians’ swan song during the first five days since becoming available on Disney Plus. It also reported that this was a “sizeable jump” compared to those who only bought or rented the superhero blockbuster on DVD, which could mean that the U.S. may be next in line in the physical sales chopping block.

However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3‘s numbers aren’t something worth singing about when compared to other recent MCU titles. According to The Direct, out of all the films from Phases 4 and 5 that made it onto streaming, Guardians 3 is the third-lowest movie, nestled in between Black Widow with 1.1 million and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with 1.7 million.

Thor: Love and Thunder toppled the rest of the recent Marvel releases with 2.2 million views. And to no one’s surprise, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is dead last with 966 thousand. If one of the MCU’s biggest box office flops is the highest-performing title during its streaming release, that could be a problem. So maybe it is a good idea that this superhero franchise is slowing down on all its future releases.

Regardless of its streaming statistics, many people saw the movie when it came out in theaters. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 earned over $845 million worldwide at the box office and received over $118 million during its domestic opening. However, it earned $73 million less than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but that doesn’t matter to Gunn, since all he cared about was the support fans gave before he made his way to DC to work on Superman: Legacy and future DCU titles.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now available to stream on Disney Plus.