Marvel’s Electric Flop

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Happy Friday, Future Party. Excited for the end of the work week? You’re not alone — and corporations know it. That’s why the massive consulting firm Deloitte has offered each of its employees $1,000 worth of Legos in order to boost their mental well-being. That’s nice… but how about a 30-hour workweek instead?

The rise of Ozempic has enabled Americans to maintain unrealistic body standards and seek similar shortcuts for body sculpting and muscle gain.

The Diagnosis: The quest for “miracle cures” for weight loss and body sculpting has existed for centuries. But data has shown that easy hacks like vibrating belt machines and shake weights are mostly ineffective compared to regular exercise. That is, until Ozempic showed up.

About the Size of It: The rise of GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide has sparked new interest in low-effort paths to “the perfect body,” and doctors aren’t psyched about it.

The Prognosis: Social media only worsens the issue, flooding users with unhealthy beauty standards and then promoting shortcuts to achieve them. Drugs like Ozempic often replace healthier habits, but no equivalent “miracle” exists for building muscle, leading to further risk.

Prediction: As Ozempic use rises, and if more drugs like it appear, expect to see body standards become even more unrealistic and unattainable. By moving the goalposts, “miracle drugs” could keep us from revising potentially harmful body standards.

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Thunderbolts*, Marvel’s risky new superhero flick starring heroes from the Black Widow universe, got great reviews across the board — but nobody went to see it.

The Big Picture: Since 2008, Marvel has built the highest-grossing film franchise of all time and ridden that wave for decades. But audiences may have finally lost enthusiasm for superhero mashups, and Marvel’s pivot to quality over quantity hasn’t paid off.

Behind the (Empty) Seats: In the six weeks since its release, Thunderbolts* has brought in just $371 million globally — one of the worst performances throughout the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Post-Credits Sequence: It seems like people are both sick of the old superheroes and uninterested in seeing new ones. If Marvel’s pivot to fewer, better, and slower superhero movies isn’t working, it’s possible that global audiences may have just had enough of the genre. 

Prediction: The biggest blockbusters of the future may target younger audiences and have even more overlap with video games. Hello, live-action Fortnite (just kidding — this isn’t real. But it might be soon).

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95.6% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Have you ever enrolled in a college or university?

“And I have a couple of degrees. And a job in the discipline.”

“Late in life educated after glass-ceiling secretary jobs. Got into the engineering field. One of the best decisions I ever made.”

“Graduated, too. Found out that a college degree only got you through the first step of the resume separation process. Also told by a future employer that a degree only proved you could see a task through to completion.”

“Couldn’t afford it at the time.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🌪️ Google has just launched Weather Lab, a website that uses AI to predict cyclones and hurricanes.

💰 Big tech firms like Palantir, Lockheed Martin, Amazon, Oracle, and Coinbase have quietly contributed millions to President Trump’s militarized birthday parade.

🏪 Grocery store shelves might be empty soon due to a cyberattack on United Natural Foods.

🎙️ Patreon and podcasters have formed a lucrative friendship, with some top creators earning six figures per month on the platform.

📈 Advertising giant WPP forecasts 2025 to be the first year that creator platforms will bring in more ad revenue than “old media.”

🎉 Informa, VidCon’s new owner, plans to pull out all the stops for YouTube and social media creators this year.

⛔ The Annecy International Animation Film Festival has become the site of a massive anti-generative AI protest.

🗓️ Sabrina Carpenter came out with a third album less than a year after releasing her second one.

🥊 Mubi, NEON, and A24 are all squabbling over the prime spot as indie film’s top dog.