Are superhero movies finally becoming less profitable among audiences?

[THG]

Apparently the newest Ant Man and Shazam movies were pretty massive flops. I didn't even realize that those movies had been released, ngl.

This also is indicative of a greater post pandemic trend however- even in 2022, most of those movies underperformed pre-pandemic margins by a lot for that genre, which would be to easily crack a billion (see: 2018 and 2019). And when Top Gun, John Wick, and Avatar are smash hits in the box office but Ant Man is a dismal flop, I really do think that Marvel (and to a lesser extent DC)'s chokehold over the box office is coming to a slow end.

Don't get me wrong- people will still watch Spiderman and Batman movies, but they've always made massive amounts of money, even before the oversaturation of the genre (see: 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008). I however don't think that low effort crap like Ant Man or Thor will be able to rake in an easy billion just because they're Marvel properties anymore.

May we be able to see the return of some swords and sandals + westerns now?

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Fair if so, though it won't stop me from wanting a Dreadnought movie.

[Middle-aged Europe]

MCU largely jumped the shark following Avengers: Endgame, with maybe the notable exception of the Spider-Man films.

DCU was of course never good to begin with, with maybe the notable exception of the first Wonder Woman film. The stand-alone films Joker and The Batman were better though.

[THG]

MCU largely jumped the shark following Avengers: Endgame, with maybe the notable exception of the Spider-Man films.

I liked No Way Home at the time, but in hindsight, it was because that movie was the first true post-COVID box office hit (I like cinemas and don't like the concept of movies released solely on streaming services) and one of the first times I'd been to the theater since March of 2020. Also, my massive nostalgia for the Maguire/Raimi trilogy in particular was a huge bonus.

Looking back, that movie was probably just okay, which by MCU/DCEU standards is a masterpiece. Never saw its predecessor.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Thor God of Thunder was terrible it was like Batman and Robin and Batgirl 1997 version it was good but a not a hit at the box office just like Freddy's Dead the New Nightmare in 1994

[John Dule]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

[THG]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

[HillGoose]

those ones with zendaya and the guy who invented sex were alright, other than that they r too confusing, so probably nobody can keep up with them anymore

[OSR stands with Israel]

With the exception of Spider-Man, MCU should have stopped after Endgame . The main villain gets defeated and plus you would have had the MCU start and end with Iron Man .

[DaleCooper]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

That film is responsible for the catastrophe that followed.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

To say Ant-Man 3 was a massive flop is a bit of hyperbole. More like a disappointment. There is a middle ground between flop and success, y'know. I don't think any MCU movie has been an actual flop...though some non-MCU Marvel movies like Morbius and the 2015 Fantastic Four have been.

Shazam 2 was indeed a massive flop, but what do you expect when 1) its universe is about to be rebooted , 2) the first one didn't do THAT well, and 3) it wasn't really marketed? Also, as another person alluded, the DCU has had problems from the start because they made Man of Steel without stating at first that it was the launch of a shared universe and then waited almost three years for another movie set in the same universe...the MCU might well have failed too had they done that.

[John Dule]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

That film is responsible for the catastrophe that followed.

Yeah, but at least it feels like it's somewhat grounded in reality. It doesn't just throw Norse gods, space aliens, Russian spies, big green monsters, witches, mutants, WWII veterans, and magicians into one big disgusting melting pot. I honestly think it's impossible to like those Avengers movies unless you have some degree of ADHD.

[DaleCooper]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

That film is responsible for the catastrophe that followed.

Yeah, but at least it feels like it's somewhat grounded in reality. It doesn't just throw Norse gods, space aliens, Russian spies, big green monsters, witches, mutants, WWII veterans, and magicians into one big disgusting melting pot. I honestly think it's impossible to like those Avengers movies unless you have some degree of ADHD.

Stop being a Marvel apologist.

[John Dule]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

That film is responsible for the catastrophe that followed.

Yeah, but at least it feels like it's somewhat grounded in reality. It doesn't just throw Norse gods, space aliens, Russian spies, big green monsters, witches, mutants, WWII veterans, and magicians into one big disgusting melting pot. I honestly think it's impossible to like those Avengers movies unless you have some degree of ADHD.

Stop being a Marvel apologist.

Lol. I admit, while I don't hate that first Iron Man movie, I can't bring myself to watch it these days. It's become so tainted that I can't get anything out of it anymore.

[DaleCooper]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

That film is responsible for the catastrophe that followed.

Yeah, but at least it feels like it's somewhat grounded in reality. It doesn't just throw Norse gods, space aliens, Russian spies, big green monsters, witches, mutants, WWII veterans, and magicians into one big disgusting melting pot. I honestly think it's impossible to like those Avengers movies unless you have some degree of ADHD.

Stop being a Marvel apologist.

Lol. I admit, while I don't hate that first Iron Man movie, I can't bring myself to watch it these days. It's become so tainted that I can't get anything out of it anymore.

I don't have a problem with it personally, but its impact on American culture has been so terrible that it isn't worth it. There are other good movies that have resulted in terrible things (Star Wars is a great example), but Iron Man ain't good enough in its own right to have been worth all that came later.

[MasterJedi]

I pity your sad lives.

[Mr. Smith]

Maybe...but what's next?

Somehow, I'm just not getting vibes of a New Hollywood on the horizon.

[John Dule]

I pity your sad lives.

Get help. You’re in a cult.

[Mr. Smith]

I pity your sad lives.

Get help. You’re in a cult.

You can have fun in a cult. And if you're the leader you make a lot of money.

[Crumpets]

Fair if so, though it won't stop me from wanting a Dreadnought movie.

But then Germany will need to make its own Dreadnought movie and then it'll become this whole big competitive thing and lead us straight down the road to trans WWI.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

I finally saw Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic was of course a doll but a human did his moves, just like Power Rangers, Batman and Spiderman uses cardboard cutouts and fast and furious in front of a Green screen to do the stunts of Robots and cars so did Dr Robotnic who looks like Trump in the cartoon it's all special effects and a wire makes Superman fly

Of course they aren't in Robots Power Rangers and cars in Fast in Furious that explodes

[THG]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

That film is responsible for the catastrophe that followed.

Yeah, but at least it feels like it's somewhat grounded in reality. It doesn't just throw Norse gods, space aliens, Russian spies, big green monsters, witches, mutants, WWII veterans, and magicians into one big disgusting melting pot. I honestly think it's impossible to like those Avengers movies unless you have some degree of ADHD.

Stop being a Marvel apologist.

Lol. I admit, while I don't hate that first Iron Man movie, I can't bring myself to watch it these days. It's become so tainted that I can't get anything out of it anymore.

I don't have a problem with it personally, but its impact on American culture has been so terrible that it isn't worth it. There are other good movies that have resulted in terrible things (Star Wars is a great example), but Iron Man ain't good enough in its own right to have been worth all that came later.

This is a fair point. That movie is okay as a standalone film, but my nostalgia blinds me to its horrible cultural impact.

The first two Raimi Spider Man movies + The Dark Knight are better individually but also don’t have anywhere near the same levels of negative cultural impact.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Fair if so, though it won't stop me from wanting a Dreadnought movie.

But then Germany will need to make its own Dreadnought movie and then it'll become this whole big competitive thing and lead us straight down the road to trans WWI.

Natasha Soudek (narrator of the Dreadnought audiobook) speaks fluent German, so this tracks.

[John Dule]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

That film is responsible for the catastrophe that followed.

Yeah, but at least it feels like it's somewhat grounded in reality. It doesn't just throw Norse gods, space aliens, Russian spies, big green monsters, witches, mutants, WWII veterans, and magicians into one big disgusting melting pot. I honestly think it's impossible to like those Avengers movies unless you have some degree of ADHD.

Stop being a Marvel apologist.

Lol. I admit, while I don't hate that first Iron Man movie, I can't bring myself to watch it these days. It's become so tainted that I can't get anything out of it anymore.

I don't have a problem with it personally, but its impact on American culture has been so terrible that it isn't worth it. There are other good movies that have resulted in terrible things (Star Wars is a great example), but Iron Man ain't good enough in its own right to have been worth all that came later.

This is a fair point. That movie is okay as a standalone film, but my nostalgia blinds me to its horrible cultural impact.

The first two Raimi Spider Man movies + The Dark Knight are better individually but also don’t have anywhere near the same levels of negative cultural impact.

The Incredibles is the only truly great superhero movie. Prove me wrong.

[Mr. Smith]

We can only hope. But I still won't rest until every last copy of the MCU movies is tracked down and destroyed.

We can only hope! But can we spare the first Iron Man? I feel like that's probably the only MCU movie I'd rewatch willingly.

That film is responsible for the catastrophe that followed.

Yeah, but at least it feels like it's somewhat grounded in reality. It doesn't just throw Norse gods, space aliens, Russian spies, big green monsters, witches, mutants, WWII veterans, and magicians into one big disgusting melting pot. I honestly think it's impossible to like those Avengers movies unless you have some degree of ADHD.

Stop being a Marvel apologist.

Lol. I admit, while I don't hate that first Iron Man movie, I can't bring myself to watch it these days. It's become so tainted that I can't get anything out of it anymore.

I don't have a problem with it personally, but its impact on American culture has been so terrible that it isn't worth it. There are other good movies that have resulted in terrible things (Star Wars is a great example), but Iron Man ain't good enough in its own right to have been worth all that came later.

This is a fair point. That movie is okay as a standalone film, but my nostalgia blinds me to its horrible cultural impact.

The first two Raimi Spider Man movies + The Dark Knight are better individually but also don’t have anywhere near the same levels of negative cultural impact.

The Incredibles is the only truly great superhero movie. Prove me wrong.

I've seen Unbreakable.  'Nuff said. Best use of Samuel L. Jackson that ain't Quentin M*&thaeffin' Tarantino.