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Disney’s movie business is reeling — and it risks yet another blow as Marvel actor Jonathan Majors starts his domestic violence case in Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday.

The 34-year-old “Loki” actor faces charges that he allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, in a March dispute in New York City.

While the actor haspleaded not guiltyto charges of assault and aggravated harassment, the timing couldn’t be worse for Disney, which hasn’t struggled to return to its post-pandemic box office glory.

The lucrative Marvel studio, which is known for churning out blockbuster hits like the “Iron Man” franchise and the wildly successful Avengers: Endgame” that reeled in a whopping $2.8 billion at the box office, has been plagued by a recent spate of box office flops.

The studio’s latest flick, “The Marvels,” which opened on Nov. 10, opened with just $47 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates.

Variety reported that “The Marvels,” which cost $250 million and sees Brie Larson reprising her role as Captain Marvel, is tracking to open to $75 million-$80 million far below the $185 million Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took in domestically in its debut weekend last year.   

David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Research Entertainment, called it an unprecedented Marvel box-office collapse.

The previous low for a Marvel movie was Ant-Man, which bowed at $57.2 million in 2015.

Critics blamed the pandemic, which not only halted movie-going but also caused Disney to put its Marvel movies on streaming service Disney+, for the change in viewing habits.

Others also called out the grueling schedule that Marvel VFX artists have endured since the pandemic ended by Disney execs who want the cash cow to return to bringing in the big bucks.

Fed up with 14-hour days and no overtime, Marvel VFX workers voted unanimously to unionize in September, sparking an industrywide trend, Variety reported.

Disney execs, including boss Bob Iger, have been “apoplectic” about Marvel’s woes, the publication said.

Earlier this year, Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” starring Majors also proved to be a box office flop grossing $476.1 million worldwide, and became one of the few Marvel flicks to not break even, Variety reported.

The report noted that the movie had a strong start when it debuted on Feb. 17 but fizzled at the box office. Perhaps audiences were turned off by news of Majors’ arrest a month later for allegedly assaulting Jabari inside a private car in Chelsea.

Although Majors’ legal woes and the “Quantumania” flop have worried execs inside Disney, the company has more or less stood by the troubled actor.

The “Creed III” actor has been slated to become the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s overarching new villain, Kang the Conqueror, and he currently remains signed to appear as the supervillain in “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” in 2026 and “Avengers: Secret Wars” in 2027.

While Majors currently retains his high-profile role with Disney, the Mouse House may be souring on the actor. Newsweek reported that Disney has removed the previously much-hyped Searchlight film “Magazine Dreams,” starring Majors, from its release schedule.

Disney did not return requests seeking comment about whether it will continue to stick by the actor.

Meanwhile, others have peeled away from Majors, who, if convicted on all of the counts hes facing, could spend up to a year in jail.

Following his arrest, Majors was dropped by his publicists, the Lede Company, and management, Entertainment 360, as well as the withdrawal of invites to events, according to Newsweek.

Talent agency CAA also reportedly dropped Majors before his arrest for “brutal conduct” towards its staff, Variety reported in a story detailing Marvel’s issues related to the actor and problems at the studio.

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Jets’ Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

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Jets' Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele did not play in Game 7 of the Jets’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday due to an undisclosed injury, coach Scott Arniel said.

Arniel ruled out Scheifele following the team’s morning skate. He was hurt in Game 5 — playing only 8:05 in the first period before exiting — and then did not travel with the Jets to St. Louis for Game 6. Arniel previously had said Scheifele was a game-time decision for Game 7.

Scheifele, 32, skated in a track suit Saturday, and Arniel told reporters the veteran was feeling better than he had the day before. Scheifele, however, was not able to participate in the Jets’ on-ice session by Sunday, quickly indicating he would not be available for the game.

Winnipeg held a 2-0 lead in the series over St. Louis before the Blues stormed back with a pair of wins to tie it, 2-2. The home team has won each game in the best-of-seven series so far.

The Jets’ challenge in closing out St. Louis only increases without Scheifele. Winnipeg already has been dealing with the uneven play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a significant storyline in the series to date. Hellebuyck was pulled in all three of his starts at St. Louis while giving up a combined 16 goals on 66 shots (.758 SV%). In Game 6, Hellebuyck allowed four goals in only 5 minutes, 23 seconds of the second period.

Hellebuyck was Winnipeg’s backbone during the regular season, earning a Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy nomination for his impeccable year (.925 SV%, 2.00 GAA).

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Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

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Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

Stars coach Pete DeBoer expects to have leading goal scorer Jason Robertson and standout defenseman Miro Heiskanen available in the Western Conference semifinals after both missed Dallas’ first-round series win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Following their thrilling Game 7 comeback victory over the Avalanche on Saturday night, the Stars await the winner of Sunday night’s Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues. If the Blues win, the Stars will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.

“I believe you’re going to see them both play in the second round, but I don’t know if it’s going to be Game 1 or Game 3 or Game 5,” DeBoer said after Saturday’s series clincher. “I consider them both day-to-day now, but there’s still some hurdles. It depends on when we start the series, how much time we have between now and Game 1. We’ll have a little better idea as we get closer.”

Robertson, 25, who posted 80 points (35 goals, 45 assists) in 82 games this season, suffered a lower-body injury in the regular-season finale April 16 and was considered week-to-week at the time.

Heiskanen hasn’t played since injuring his left knee in a Jan. 28 collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Initially expected to miss three to four months, the 25-year-old defenseman had surgery Feb. 4 and sat out the final 32 games of the regular season. In 50 games, he collected 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) and averaged 25:10 of ice time, which ranked fifth among NHL blueliners.

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U.S. crude oil prices fall more than 4% after OPEC+ agrees to surge production in June

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U.S. crude oil prices fall more than 4% after OPEC+ agrees to surge production in June

Logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. crude oil futures fell more than 4% on Sunday, after OPEC+ agreed to surge production for a second month.

U.S. crude was down $2.49, or 4.27%, to $55.80 a barrel shortly after trading opened. Global benchmark Brent fell $2.39, or 3.9%, to $58.90 per barrel. Oil prices have fallen more than 20% this year.

The eight producers in the group, led by Saudi Arabia, agreed on Saturday to increase output by another 411,000 barrels per day in June. The decision comes a month after OPEC+ surprised the market by agreeing to surge production in May by the same amount.

The June production hike is nearly triple the 140,000 bpd that Goldman Sachs had originally forecast. OPEC+ is bringing more than 800,000 bpd of additional supply to the market over the course of two months.

Oil prices in April posted the biggest monthly loss since 2021, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have raised fears of a recession that will slow demand at the same time that OPEC+ is quickly increasing supply.

Oilfield service firms such as Baker Hughes and SLB are expecting investment in exploration and production to decline this year due to the weak price environment.

“The prospects of an oversupplied oil market, rising tariffs, uncertainty in Mexico and activity weakness in Saudi Arabia are collectively constraining international upstream spending levels,” Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call on April 25.

Oil majors Chevron and Exxon reported first-quarter earnings last week that fell compared to the same period in 2024 due to lower oil prices.

Goldman is forecasting that U.S. crude and Brent prices will average $59 and $63 per barrel, respectively, this year.

Catch up on the latest energy news from CNBC Pro:

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