The first MCU Captain Marvel film came out between Infinity War (where the Character had a quick cameo in the IW End Credits scene); so I think that timing & cameo really helped that film boost its box office.
But now that we've seen the character, I don't think the character ever had the popularity of characters like say Spiderman; so yeah, in addition to lack of promotion due to the SAG/AFTRA strike, there wasn't much buzz/draw beyond the base MCU fan base. The general audience just didn't see a reason not to at best wait for it to hit Streaming.
	
		
			
		
		
	
				
			But now that we've seen the character, I don't think the character ever had the popularity of characters like say Spiderman; so yeah, in addition to lack of promotion due to the SAG/AFTRA strike, there wasn't much buzz/draw beyond the base MCU fan base. The general audience just didn't see a reason not to at best wait for it to hit Streaming.

 
				 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		
 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		
 
 
		 
 
		 
 
		