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The MCU's Most Popular Streaming Movie On Disney+ In 2022 Is Shocking
The most popular movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2022 is actually Eternals, which is a serious surprise. Centering around a group of immortals dedicated to protecting humanity from the monstrous Deviants, Eternals follows the team through the centuries as they nearly drive the Deviants to extinction. After the death of one of their own, they are forced to reckon with the fact that their purpose on Earth may not be quite as benevolent as it seems. Despite the epic story and big ensemble cast, Eternals is considered one of the lowest-rated movies in the MCU.
Despite being the most forgettable MCU movie, Eternals has proved its staying power on the Disney+ streaming platform. According to Nielsen, Eternals was the ninth most popular Disney+ movie in 2022 with 4.236 billion viewing hours – the only MCU movie to crack Disney's top 10. Eternals was also listed as the 13th most popular streaming movie in general, making it an absolute standout for the platform, despite its meager reception at the box office. It earned a mere $402.1 million — low for an MCU movie — on a $200 million budget.
Why Eternals Is Doing So Well On Disney+
Eternals' success is a serious surprise, given its remarkably poor reception in theaters. Yet Eternals broke records to become the biggest MCU debut on Disney+ early in 2022, and the film has proven to have staying power. Of course, it is hard to blame the production for its box office numbers, which appear to be an aberration caused by the pandemic. Released in November 2021, Eternals came shortly after theaters began reopening, so many potential viewers still chose to stay home and wait for the movies to hit streaming platforms, including Disney+.
Eternals also earned poor reviews on both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, including a low 47 percent critical score - the lowest for any MCU movie. With expectations lowered, it was difficult to draw viewers into theaters when they could just watch it from home only a few short months after the release. The MCU's Phase 4 was also different from the previous Phases, which likely caused further criticism of the film. Because Eternals was the most disconnected from the overall narrative happening in the MCU, it seemingly lost interest in theaters and was put off until it hit Disney+.
Will Eternals 2 Ever Happen?
Eternals' unexpected success on Disney+ shows that there is some interest in the robotic superhero team, even if the box office numbers didn't show it. The team still has a major adventure in front of it, as Starfox has only just introduced himself to the other Eternals — not to mention that several of them have been captured by the Celestials. Unfortunately, the biggest Eternals comic story can't happen yet, as it features the Eternals facing off against the X-Men, which the MCU will need to spend years building up to. So, if an Eternals sequel ever does come, it is likely many years away.
