Stephen King has hit out at those "gloating" about the box office failure of 'The Marvels'.

Nia DaCosta's superhero film has experienced the worst-ever opening weekend for a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster and the legendary horror author has criticised the "unpleasant" reaction to the movie's troubles – even though he is not a fan of Marvel films himself.

King wrote on X: "I don't go to MCU movies, don't care for them, but I find this barely masked gloating over the low box office for 'The Marvels' very unpleasant. Why gloat over failure?"

The 76-year-old author – who has penned classic stories including 'Carrie' and 'Misery' – also suggested that the negative attitude towards the flick could be a result of "adolescent fanboy hate".

King added: "Some of the rejection of 'The Marvels' may be adolescent fanboy hate. You know, 'Yuck! GIRLS!'"

'The Marvels' is unique as the cast is led by three female stars – Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani – and the former has been open about having to deal with trolls since she was first cast in the role of Captain Marvel.

However, Brie's co-star Samuel L. Jackson - who plays Nick Fury - explained that the actress will not be cowed by the toxicity of social media.

He told Rolling Stone: "She's not going to let any of that stuff destroy her.

"These incel dudes who hate strong women, or the fact that she's a feminist who has an opinion and expressed it? Everybody wants people to be who they want them to be. She is who she is, and she's genuinely that."