Big budgets do not make super hero movies good.

[tv horror]

A big budget does not make a super hero movie why? Fox Sony Marvel / Disney have pumped millions into these similar themed movies yet why are there failures. Take the scenario of a Director, film crew and actors then add a comic based story line yet the results are so different from each studio I wonder what goes wrong. You would think that with these similar themes that the studios would learn from each other what works for the fans and what doesn’t and what brings the most success yet in each case they come out so differently. Someone is clearly to blame but who, are the studios so jealous of each other that OUR movie will be better than theirs attitude why can they not learn from their mistakes and step back and give the viewer what they desire a great enjoyable movie. Don’t get me wrong I love all the super hero comic related movies / Television series both Marvel Dc or even the independent comic companies I’ve watched them all and for that few hours it was fun. As for the DC Marvel feud I’m not interested because for the first time in my lifetime I have witnessed my childhood heroes brought to life good or bad.

[Jokerz79]

To me it comes down to the character some characters simply require a big budget like a Green Lantern, Guardians of the Galaxy, Superman, or Iron Man due to the CGI involved but Daredevil, Blade, Logan, even a Batman film could be done with lower budgets and if it doesn't effect the quality of the film I don't see why not especially given lower budgets give more freedom creatively because there isn't as much pressure on the box office returns.

[JBatmanFan05]

Audiences reward these studios for these big budget bloated committee-directed films. Geek culture has become like an endless supply of marketing hype for crap films.

Most of the comic book films over the recent years have been pretty forgettable. Empty "ooh, ah" spectacles.

I've liked Winter Soldier and Deadpool (a comic character I hate) and that's pretty much it.

[DrNewGod]

To me it comes down to the character some characters simply require a big budget like a Green Lantern, Guardians of the Galaxy, Superman, or Iron Man due to the CGI involved but Daredevil, Blade, Logan, even a Batman film could be done with lower budgets and if it doesn't effect the quality of the film I don't see why not especially given lower budgets give more freedom creatively because there isn't as much pressure on the box office returns.

It's been pointed out on other threads that studio players tend to inflate budgets of films that are expected to be Big Revenue, tucking all manner of unrelated expenditures under them.

Beyond that, I sometimes wonder if ego gets involved in these pictures. "Mine must be The Biggerester Film EVER!" kind of thing.

[Bukdiah]

To me it comes down to the character some characters simply require a big budget like a Green Lantern, Guardians of the Galaxy, Superman, or Iron Man due to the CGI involved but Daredevil, Blade, Logan, even a Batman film could be done with lower budgets and if it doesn't effect the quality of the film I don't see why not especially given lower budgets give more freedom creatively because there isn't as much pressure on the box office returns.

Well said. Certain characters require a large budget to bring the character/world to life so the budget is warranted.

I agree Movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, Superman and Iron Man may require big budgets to make awesome CGI and special effects.

However, the highly successful Star Wars film had a budget of only $11 million. George Lucas managed to create beautiful special effects with a limited budget.

Star Wars was an outlier if anything. It was projected to flop when it first came out. Lucas did say it was his most expensive movie in the sense that EVERY shot had to count since they barely had any money. I think when given less tools, you are forced to be more creative. With that being said, there are things that look unpolished, like fingerprint marks on Vader's costume for instance.

Cameron's Terminator had a small budget too and their effects were still solid as well until you see the scene where the Terminator is running through the fire.

With all that being said, I think it's easier to be financially successful when starting with a low budget. That is how Blumhouse makes their money and how Get Out became a run away hit that exceeded all expectations.

[AJBopp]

I may be wrong, but I rather have the impression that CGI is not the factor that significantly drives up the cost of big budget movies. It's salaries of 1-3 individuals, particularly as you get into and past the 2nd sequel. As you get into team movies, those 1-3 individuals become 6-9.

[Soubhagya]

I agree that all characters don't need big budgets. And films on characters like Superman, Iron Man, etc. which need higher budgets especially due to visual effects can be made for even less. There's lot of scope for reducing the budgets.

District 9 was made at the cost of 30 million dollars. It's visuals aren't shabby. In fact, it got an academy award nomination for visual effects. Each Lord of The Rings film was made for under 100 million. So, why can't they make a Superman film at say 120-150 million? Or maybe less. Justice League was a disaster on many levels. But if it had a reasonable budget, it at least would have broke even.

Studios shall try to reign in those budgets. Even if superhero films are doing great, film making always was and remains to this day a risky business. They shall seriously try to reduce those bloated budgets for their own good.

[Zero Hunter]

All budgets need to be brought down that is just a simple fact. AJ is right though it is not the CGI that drives up the price in most cases it is the actors pay. I mean just look at how much RDJ made for the last Avengers movie and Captain America Civil War .... 80 million dollars. That is probably why we are going to see many of the original actors phased out of the MCU movies after Infinity War. I think RDJ and Johansson are both heading out the door just because they are just too damn expensive anymore.

With that said it is also true that not every property needs huge CGI spectacles. Suicide Squad should have never been this huge CGI cluster it was because that is not what the property is. It is a down and dirty hit squad not some team fighting to save the world. That was a perfect example of blowing your load on unneeded GGI.