In the attention economy, media content competition hinges on users' limited time and attention spans. Trending topics on digital platforms are increasingly becoming an essential gateway to commercial transformation. As one of the world's most influential cultural icons, Marvel superheroes offer a prime example of how IP can be transformed into long-term economic assets. This research examines the "attention economy chain," exploring how Marvel achieves the transformation path from social media buzz to merchandise consumption. Through case studies of "Avengers: Endgame" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home", the study traces the chain between trending topics, user-generated content (UGC), and consumer behavior. Results show that peaks in attention generated by trailers and online discussions are amplified by high-quality UGC, further strengthening emotional engagement and purchase intent. Industry financial reports and market data indicate that sales of merchandise such as toys, apparel, and games often closely align with peaks in attention. The study further points out four main breakpoints—content homogeneity, fragmented touchpoints, insufficient UGC incentives, and opaque recommendation mechanisms—and proposes strategic solutions accordingly. At the same time, this study also emphasizes the critical role of combining algorithmic recommendation models with fan participation mechanisms, providing a theoretical reference for understanding attention-driven consumption, and also provid Trending topics on digital platforms are increasingly becoming an essential gateway to commercial transformation. As one of the world's most influential cultural icons, Marvel superheroes offer a prime example of how IP can be transformed into long-term economic assets. This research examines the "attention economy chain," exploring how Marvel achieves the transformation path from social media buzz to merchandise consumption. Through case studies of "Avengers: Endgame" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home", the study traces the chain between trending topics, user-generated content (UGC), and consumer behavior. [12] The Walt Disney Company. (2025). Fiscal year 2024 annual report (Form 10-K). Burbank, CA: Disney. [13] Court, D., Elzinga, D., Mulder, S., & Vetvik, O. J. (2009, June). The consumer decision journey. McKinsey Quarterly. [14] Mohamed, T. (2019, April 25). Avengers: Endgame marks a new beginning for Disney stock. Business Insider. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/avengers-endgame-new-beginning-for-disney-stock-2019-4-1028140011 . [15] Bishqemi, K., & Crowley, M. (2022). “TikTok vs. Instagram: Algorithm Comparison.” Journal of Student Research, 11 (1). https://www.jsr.org/index.php/path/article/view/2428 . [16] Xiao, M., & Myers, P. (2025).

As the landscape of mass entertainment shifts towards new media—characterized by short-form videos, interactive content, and decentralized platforms—the traditional film industry is undergoing significant changes in its advertising strategies. This paper investigates the impact of new media on movie advertising by analyzing how digital channels, such as social media and streaming services, have transformed traditional promotional methods. Utilizing reliable secondary sources, this research explores various aspects of new media’s influence on film marketing, focusing on case studies like “Avengers: Endgame” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” to highlight effective strategies. The findings reveal that new media offers unprecedented opportunities for audience engagement through dynamic and interactive content, surpassing the effectiveness of traditional methods. Social media campaigns, marked by high levels of engagement, viral content, and influencer collaborations, have proven particularly successful in driving film visibility and box office success. The research concludes that future studies should incorporate emerging platforms like TikTok, which present novel ways to connect with younger demographics and create shareable content. By understanding the evolving trends and integrating new media strategies, filmmakers can optimize their advertising approaches to enhance audience reach and maximize commercial success.

Introduction After the release of Avengers: Endgame (2019), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) leaned more intentionally into the concept of the multiverse. Although Marvel had experienced tremendous success by integrating its films since Iron Man in 2008, post-Endgame MCU products have been critical and commercial failures (Hughes), leading many to ponder whether Marvel was the victim of its own popularity. Specifically, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and The Marvels (2023) earned less than $500 million worldwide, with The Marvels holding the dubious record of the lowest-grossing Marvel film to date. Both releases employed the multiverse concept comprising part of Marvel’s Phase Five (Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 5, 2026). Other Phase Five MCU films Deadpool and Wolverine (2024) and Thunderbolts* (2025) also rely on the multiverse concept but earned significantly more money at the box office and received more critical and fan appreciation at $1,338,073,645 and $382,436,917 to date, respectively (“Deadpool and Wolverine;” “Thunderbolts*”). A film’s success or failure can be assessed in multiple ways; however, box office receipts and audience ratings are focussed on here as they often determine how Marvel decides what content to produce. While pop culture fans have patience and an appetite for multiverse products, as evidenced by long running comic book series and television programs as well as the success of films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), s Fan Burnout and the Multiverse | M/C Journal Fan Burnout and the Multiverse Authors Tanya Cook DOI: https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.3244 How to Cite Cook, T. (2026). Fan Burnout and the Multiverse. M/C Journal , 29 (1). https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.3244 More Citation Formats ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Vol. 29 No. 1 (2026): multiverse Published 2026-03-16 Feature Introduction After the release of Avengers: Endgame (2019), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) leaned more intentionally into the concept of the multiverse. Video games, like Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018, 2022), were huge successes that Marvel capitalised on, while others, like Marvel’s Avengers (2020), were left to the wayside or taken offline (Wilson). Together, however, the films, video games, comic books, and television programs all connect like interlocking puzzle pieces to make a prolific and compelling media experience for fans. Marvel’s strategic investment generated positive financial returns and critical acclaim. Avengers: Endgame (2019) is the second-highest-grossing film of all time, having earned approximately $2.8 billion at the box office ( Avengers: Endgame ). Jenkins predicted that audiences who grew up connecting the dots and contextualising characters who appeared in multiple stories as children would come to expect said integration from their media as adults (“Convergence Culture”). By relying on the integration of media and participatory fandom expectations, Marvel cultivated an audience that was primed to engage with the media long Through their success and the Phase-based planning, Marvel was able to assure fans that more content would be forthcoming, and fans could continue to invest time and money in Marvel products. After concluding their main story arc in Avengers: Endgame (2019), however, Marvel needed a new direction for future projects. With a built-in engaged fan audience and successful integration of serial storytelling, Marvel focussed on the multiverse as its next unifying theme. Entering the Multiverse The multiverse concept is not new for comic book fans. Phases Four and Five have had both critical and commercial successes for Marvel, including Black Widow (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023), as well as those films previously mentioned. Failures from Phases Four and Five include Eternals (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), as well as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and The Marvels (2023). The pandemic, streaming wars, domestic violence allegations against Johnathan Majors, and the Hollywood strikes of 2023, however, all changed the socio-cultural context in which MCU films were released. Fans had grown up with the character of Spider-Man in the Sam Raimi films of the 2000s and animated series, and watching Hugh Jackman as Wolverine from 2000-2017. Fan nostalgia for re-quels (reboot/remake and sequel) (Jones) is not to blame for fan burnout, however, as evidenced by the success of the recent superhero redo Superman (2025) or animated series sequel X-Men ‘97 (2024). Nostalgia (Jones 2) is a powerful motivator for fans, as Munnelly et al. argued in their chapter about the success of X-Men ‘97 . While fans could accept a different actor or character as Spider-Man, casting Jackman as Wolverine was a triumph for Deadpool and Wolverine (2024), especially after the character died in Logan (2017) and Jackman said he would no longer portray the superhero. The Deadpool films risked alienating audiences by bringing back Jackman as Wolverine because one critique of multiverse films is that if there are multiple realities, it means that no one character's death or action is meaningful. Rather than pathologising individuals who are feeling burnout, closer critical attention must be paid to the systems that are contributing to it, including media production during late-stage capitalism. References “All 37 Marvel MCU Movies Ranked ( The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Thunderbolts, Ant-Man ).” Rotten Tomatoes , n.d. 12 Jan. 2026 < https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-marvel-cinematic-universe-movies-ranked/ >. “ Avengers: Endgame .” BoxOffice Mojo , n.d. 12 jan. 2026 < https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3059975681/ >. Burback. “Burback – Multiverse Fatigue.” YouTube , 24 June 2023. 9 Jan. 2026 < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p0E7fTGrjc >.

months after Endgame in 2024, while Spider-Man: No Way Home begins immediately after Far From Home, and continues over late 2024. Hawkeye takes place one Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films and television series produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films and series are set. This was the first phase to include television content from Marvel Studios, with multiple series and specials—marketed After the return of half the population ignites "the emergence", the Eternals—an immortal alien race created by the Celestials who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7,000 years—reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants. By early 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a film for the Eternals, with Kaz Firpo and Ryan Firpo writing the script to focus on a love story between the characters Sersi and Ikaris. Late that September, Chloé Zhao was hired to direct The Eternals, and also served as the film's credited writer along with Patrick Burleigh and the Firpos. Filming occurred from July 2019 to February 2020, shooting throughout England. The main cast, headlined by Richard Madden as Ikaris and Angelina Jolie as Thena, was announced at the July 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, with Gemma Chan cast as Sersi the next month. The title was shortened in August 2020. Eternals premiered in Los Angeles on October 18, 2021, and was released in the United States on November 5. Eternals takes place around the same time as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), six to eight months after Avengers: Endgame in 2024. The mid-credits scene features Harry Styles as Thanos's brother Eros / Starfox and Patton Oswalt as Pip the Troll, while Mahershala Ali has an uncredited cameo as the voice of Blade in the post-credits scene, before starring in the film Blade (2025). Many of the properties in the Phase are set after the events of Avengers: Endgame. WandaVision is set three weeks after the events of that film, with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier set six months after Endgame. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is also set after Endgame during the days leading to the Qingming Festival in early April, with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law set "a relatively short amount of time" after Shang-Chi. Eternals takes place around the same time as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Spider-Man: Far From Home, six to eight months after Endgame in 2024, while Spider-Man: No Way Home begins immediately after Far From Home, and continues over late 2024. Hawkeye takes place one year after the events of Endgame during the 2024 Christmas season,…