Originally Posted by
DochaDocha
At the risk of sounding snooty, I think a no-villain Superman movie would work best if it had a little bit of intellectual challenge/stimulation for the viewers. Let's look at the top 10 movies of all time (domestic):
1 2015 Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens $936,662,225 $1,131,561,399 $2,068,223,624
2 2019 Avengers: Endgame $858,373,000 $1,939,427,564 $2,797,800,564
3 2009 Avatar $760,507,625 $2,029,197,650 $2,789,705,275
4 2018 Black Panther $700,059,566 $646,853,595 $1,346,913,161
5 2018 Avengers: Infinity War $678,815,482 $1,369,544,272 $2,048,359,754
6 1997 Titanic $659,363,944 $1,548,844,451 $2,208,208,395
7 2015 Jurassic World $652,270,625 $996,584,239 $1,648,854,864
8 2012 The Avengers $623,357,910 $895,455,078 $1,518,812,988
9 2017 Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi $620,181,382 $712,358,507 $1,332,539,889
10 2018 Incredibles 2
Yeah, not sure any of those movies do it. And on the International list:
1 2009 Avatar $2,029,197,650 $760,507,625 $2,789,705,275
2 2019 Avengers: Endgame $1,939,427,564 $858,373,000 $2,797,800,564
3 1997 Titanic $1,548,844,451 $659,363,944 $2,208,208,395
4 2018 Avengers: Infinity War $1,369,544,272 $678,815,482 $2,048,359,754
5 2015 Furious 7 $1,165,715,774 $353,007,020 $1,518,722,794
6 2015 Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens $1,131,561,399 $936,662,225 $2,068,223,624
7 2019 The Lion King $1,112,675,054 $543,638,043 $1,656,313,097
8 2017 The Fate of the Furious $1,013,000,000 $225,764,765 $1,238,764,765
9 2015 Jurassic World $996,584,239 $652,270,625 $1,648,854,864
10 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
(Hmmm, not sure why it still lists Avatar as number one, but whatever).
My observation has been that visual spectacle is more important on the international side than domestic, partially explaining Avatar's number 1 status and the fact that two Fast and the Furious movies made this list and Transformers: Extinction is number 15... I'm afraid that if you make audiences stop and think in a Superman film, it's going to be a $100 million loser at the box office.
EDITS: The International figures are non-US. I meant to post worldwide (US + International) but posting International was telling about how "mindless action" can be appealing, especially to crowds who don't necessarily want to watch a movie with subtitles.