Ms. Marvel is a breath of fresh air in the crowded Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iman Vellani is an absolute delight to watch as Kamala Khan and the shows stands out as one of the most unique in the MCU. Yet it has the lowest opening of any Disney+ series, according to multiple media reports from sites like ComingSoon.net. That may because Disney decided to release its first three episodes at the same time as their highly anticipated Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Ms. Marvel focuses on Kamala, a Pakistani-American girl living in New Jersey who's the Avengers' biggest fan. When she develops her own powers, she has to learn how to balance them with her faith and her family. The show focuses on her teen life as well as her hero life, and it's easy for viewers to connect with different aspects of her journey. The show is incredibly well-reviewed and trending very well with young people, but according to the reports, only 775,000 households watched it in the first five days after its premiere.
Obi-Wan Kenobi has been a huge series for Disney+ and for Star Wars fans. It's a series that people have been wanting for years, so it has drawn a lot of attention. It can be difficult to compete with Star Wars -- yet Disney decided to try, possibly since the MCU is its own massive franchise. With Ms. Marvel being a new property featuring the first Pakistani hero, it had an uphill battle to attract viewers who might not have been familiar with the character. Disney's decision to release it on the same day as Obi-Wan Kenobi is the worst choice that could have been made.
Not only did Obi-Wan Kenobi overshadow Ms. Marvel's release statistically, but Ms. Marvel has also sparked less conversation on social media. One of the benefits of a week-to-week release schedule is that a show can generate a lot of positive discussion in between episodes. Social media can drive up interest in the series and subsequently viewership. Each Wednesday, however, Obi-Wan Kenobi was the popular subject of online discussion. This meant that Ms. Marvel didn't get to reap the benefits of its week-to-week release.
Disney deciding to compete with itself on its own platform is puzzling. The company could have released Ms. Marvel and Obi-Wan Kenobi on separate days, allowing the series to share viewers' attention. This approach would also drive up activity on their streaming service. Did they have a lack of faith in Ms. Marvel so they decided to release it alongside their more popular program in hopes that one would draw fans to the other? Or did they believe that Star Wars and the MCU are both so huge that the potential conflict didn't matter? While the rationale is unknown, the effects have turned out to matter a lot.
Ms. Marvel having the lowest first-week streaming numbers can be attributed, at least in part, to its release simultaneously with Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two series had no reason to be released together. Now that Obi-Wan Kenobi has finished, perhaps the remaining episodes of Ms. Marvel will get the higher ratings the show deserves.
New episodes of Ms. Marvel are now streaming every Wednesday on Disney+.