“Superhero fatigue” is a nebulous concept that for at least a decade now has cropped up whenever a blockbuster comic book movie underperforms — or flops. But in the last two years, as disappointment has become a new normal for DC and even mighty Marvel, so too have claims that superhero fatigue has finally set in.
With two exceptions, every superhero film released since the start of 2023 has disappointed. None have topped $400 million domestic box office or $1 billion globally, with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” coming closest and delivering solid box office totals. Three films failed to reach $100 million domestically, with “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” barely tipping over $50 million.
Then came Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Critics weren’t kind to the threequel, but those reviews didn’t matter to audiences. It debuted this week to a record-shattering $438 million global box office, the highest opening since “Avatar: The Way of Water” in December 2022 and the largest ever for an R-rated film.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” was also just the ninth movie ever to open to more than $200 million domestic and has pushed Marvel’s lifetime franchise grosses beyond the unprecedented $30 billion mark.
Does that mean claims of “fatigue” are overblown? TheWrap spoke with industry insiders and fans at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con to gauge the mood at the center of genre fandom. What emerged was a picture of a genre where fans are craving quality over quantity, and where studios like Marvel are going back to basics by bringing back tried-and-true-stars like Robert Downey Jr., albeit in a totally different role.
But “Deadpool & Wolverine” — Marvels’ only major superhero movie scheduled for release this year — is complicating the discussion.
“If you have a movie that’s going to make a billion dollars, it’s kind of hard to argue that there’s superhero fatigue,” Robert Kirkman, creator of comics “The Walking Dead” and “Invincible,” told TheWrap.
2023 Superhero Movie Releases
(Source: Box Office Mojo)
Kirkman offered a nuanced perspective. While acknowledging the previous “low” in superhero movie box office performance before this past weekend, he was hesitant to label it fatigue. “I don’t know that I can necessarily say it’s superhero fatigue, or if it’s more prevalent because superheroes were the anchor of the summer movie schedule,” he said.
The creator pointed to broader factors for the decline, particularly the post-pandemic struggle to reestablish moviegoing habits, and he remains bullish on the genre’s future, citing successful properties like Prime Video’s “The Boys” and the 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which ultimately earned $1.9 billion.
By contrast, Calvin O’Neal Jr., an animation editor, recognizes some signs of fatigue. “There’s been a degree of repetitiveness in regards to origin stories, easter eggs for the sake of having easter eggs, and pillars of energy coming from the sky,” he said.
However, both Kirkman and O’Neal maintain personal enthusiasm for the genre.
“I grew up reading these comics so there’s still an excitement when something gets translated to film or TV,” O’Neal said.
O’Neal touched on a critical point — quantity vs. quality. “When demand is high for the next superhero hit on the silver screen or your television screen, quality can take a hit as well,” he said.
Mark Alvarado, a professional illustrator, echoed O’Neal’s concerns about quality, specifically citing recent films based on Sony’s Marvel characters: “You can’t crank out ‘Madame Web’ and ‘Morbius’ and expect people to not notice a dip in quality.”
Alvarado did, however, distinguish between critical reception and general audience sentiment when it comes to superhero fatigue.
“I’ve noticed reviews tend to be a bit harsher lately. I don’t think the general public is there yet though,” he said. “Just take a look at any superhero movie’s Rotten Tomato score and the profound difference between critics and the audience score.”
Nicole Maines, an actress and DC Comics writer who has firsthand experience in front of the camera as a superhero – she starred in The CW’s “Supergirl” as Nia Nal/Dreamer – also lamented a decline in quality, arguing the problem is who makes the creative decisions.
“We need to understand why people love superheroes,” she told TheWrap. “And that happens when we have superhero fans in positions of power, in these creative rooms having these conversations. Because I think the problem is, when we have industry people who aren’t necessarily superhero fans, who don’t necessarily know anything about superheroes, and putting out this content just because they’re like, ‘Oh, this is popular. Let’s just churn it out again and again and again.’”
Maines continued, “And then people are like,‘OK, but you’re missing what about it we respond to.’ It gives the feeling of like, an outsider’s perspective of what superheroes must be like.”
From an insider’s perspective, the actress and devout “X-Men ‘97” fan argued, returning to the basics of superhero stories seems to be what’s working at the moment.
“We’re seeing a surge in popularity of new superhero projects that are kind of getting back to our roots. And the nostalgia’s starting to kick in,” she said. “When superhero fans are at the helm, they’re able to create stories that fans resonate with, and it takes them back to their childhood, and reminds them this is why we love those stories. Because superheroes are timeless, but they do also have to be done well.”
Maines’ point could be evident in Marvel’s biggest Comic-Con reveal this year: The return of Robert Downey Jr.
Downey Jr. propelled the MCU to billion-dollar success playing Iron Man from 2008-2019. Now, somehow, he’ll portray Doctor Doom, the arch enemy of the Fantastic Four. How exactly Marvel will execute this twist remains unclear, but he’ll be the main antagonist of “Avengers: Doomsday” (2026) and “Avengers: Secret Wars” (2027).
For many, including one 14-year-old fan TheWrap spoke to on the train ride out of San Diego who has literally never known a world without the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the choice to bring RDJ back is more than welcome. For this fan, the return of an actor at the center of Marvel’s arguably greatest era could signal a return to high quality.
It remains to be seen how widespread that sentiment is. Marvel’s announcement provoked as much skepticism and mockery as it did celebration, fueled by the assumption that the company is paying astronomincal money in an attempt to win fans back.
We need to understand why people love superheroes. And that happens when we have superhero fans in positions of power, in these creative rooms having these conversations.
Nicole Maines, actress and DC Comics writer
Still, Kirkman, O’Neal and Alvarado expressed optimism about reaching “Infinity War” and “Endgame” levels of enthusiasm again. Alvarado provided an interesting analogy: “‘Endgame’ felt like a big summer crossover event from comics,” he said. “But after that event you reset the pieces and build up to the next event. That’s what it feels like now.”
Looking ahead, there’s cautious optimism about upcoming projects. The return of the Russo Brothers directing those next two “Avengers” movies with Downey Jr. had the crowd inside Hall H on Saturday howling with glee. The DC reboot under James Gunn’s leadership, set to launch with “Superman” (formerly called “Superman: Legacy”) next year, is also garnering positive anticipation.
“If you look at James Gunn’s track record all the way from ‘Super,’ [‘Guardians of the Galaxy’], to ‘The Suicide Squad,’ he hasn’t missed,” Kirkman said. “I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t hit the mark with the Man of Steel.”
The success of “Deadpool & Wolverine” complicates the superhero fatigue argument. While Kirkman, O’Neal and Alvarado acknowledged some signs of fatigue do exist, that film’s performance demonstrates that audiences will still turn out for the right project.
The film’s record-breaking opening weekend suggests that while the superhero genre may be evolving, claims of widespread fatigue may still be premature. Audiences are still willing to turn out in record numbers for superhero movies that offer something new or bring together beloved characters in exciting ways, and fans TheWrap spoke to remained hopeful, albeit exhausted by having to keep hoping for a winner.
As Kirkman put it, “As long as you’re doing innovative things, and as long as you’re moving the genre forward… it’s very easy, I think, to revitalize this.”
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