Emphasis on the ineptitude. Dark Phoenix's failure had a lot going into it (no Hugh Jackman Wolverine, being a sequel to a movie that was widely considered bad, looking like a remake of one of the worst X-Men movies). I doubt the lack of toys had any real effect.
Ask Capcom how it went when their PR team tried to claim audiences don't remember the X-Men anymore.
Ask Capcom how it went when their PR team tried to claim audiences don't remember the X-Men anymore.