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Chart of the Day: Disney is cleaning up with Marvel

The Disney-Marvel business model relies on d-list heroes making a-list money.

Marvel’s latest, “Doctor Strange” cleaned up at the American box office this weekend, adding about $85 million to a more than $325 million worldwide gross. Crucially, the Sorcerer Supreme played by Benedict Cumberbatch is not an A-list comics book character. He’s not even second-teir, like Iron Man and Thor were (believe it or not) before they got movies. Doctor Strange is more like Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy, other heroes Disney and Marvel have been able to mine for big box office returns. That idea is crucial to their business model, and it’s one rivals have tried to emulate. Listen to that story in the player below.

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