Do You Believe Comic Book Movie Fatigue Is Setting In?

[Powerboy]

Well OP you beat me to making this thread. Yes the comic book fatigue is setting in and honestly anyone who disagrees to me feels like they are in personal denial of the reality that is setting in. Hollywood hates comic book movie now more than they ever hated batman and robin.

Hmm, with the top ten movies last year all being superhero movies (and, of course, people were making the same claim of superhero fatigue last year when that happened, and the year before and the year before, and the year before that, and the year before that...), maybe there might be some question as to who is in denial? This "superhero fatigue" is right up there with "Go woke, get broke" aimed at movies that just made a billion dollars.

I get that you may well personally be feeling tired of superhero movies but people are conflating their preferences with facts.

Yeah, Ant-Man performed less than expected and Shazam less than hoped. But, how are they compared to other movies? More importantly, it's too soon to declare a trend. It would be better to see what the results are at the end of the year.

This is not personal. I actually like movies that are not superhero movies or action movies. But the evidence simply goes contrary to the superhero fatigue claim. I honestly think there may be a case of: Give us a Superman/ Batman/ Wonder Woman/ some kind of Iron-Man/ Avengers movie. It is possible that the focus on other characters is a mistake.

Then again, waiting for one flop to foist an opinion is a mistake. How did Wakanda Forever do? Why is that irrelevant? Oh, it didn't quite break a billion in the U.S.? Clearly a flop and a sign of the end.

Also, as has been pointed out, some of this ignores overall movie-going trends Post-Pandemic, and streaming era. Superhero movies are still the ruling genre. I kind of wish more people did watch other movies more.

[Colossus1980]

I voted Yes. But really what genre is a guaranteed BO success? Romantic comedies? Westerns? Animated? Mafia/Mob/Crime? Sci-Fi? Horror?

Even though I voted yes doesn't mean CBM won't land in the top 10. No, what I think is there might be less people that will go to see them now vs before since there's been a steady stream of CBM that have come out for the past decade or earlier. Also I think the standards for a CBM have become higher. It's become harder to satisfy critics and the GA IMO regarding CBM.

It will be interesting to see how the new IPs from the MCU will perform onscreen as well as the Gunn DCU.

[Mister Mets]

It's early to say.

It could be factors specific to recent films.

Covid restrictions led to compromises on films, in terms of what actors are allowed to do on set, as well as the resources available for special effects.

James Gunn planning a DC relaunch makes films like Shazam 2 seem like an afterthought.

Or maybe there are long-term problems, as the novelty wears off for the audience, and the major companies slowly run out of A-list material to adapt. Granted, a Spider-Man film that heavily borrowed from One More Day/ One Moment in Time did better than the X-Men movie adapting the Dark Phoenix saga.

[PolarIceFire]

Man...

Might be time for a quick round of "Meanwhile, Out In Actual Reality..."

This second "Shazam..." film is supposedly a serious face plant that points to folks turning on comic book films as a whole.

If the film that is supposedly the serious face plant makes around the same thing in it's opening weekend that the latest "Magic Mike..." film make in it's first two weeks?

Might be time to take the blinders off, and get real with yourself for a minute.

What an odd, impotent, POINTLESS comparison. I mean, MM3 was...

Originally intended to be digitally released exclusively onto HBO Max, following strong test screenings Warner Bros. Pictures opted to give the film a theatrical release.

on a budget of only $45 million, compared to Shazam FotG's $125 million. For the latter, initial estimates suggested it was eyeing an opening between $43 and $52 million, vs. the $30 it actually did. So it failed to meet financial eXpectations: 'Shazam: Fury of the Gods' Bombs At Box Office with $30M... @Deadline.com

Also, Disney Layoff Rounds Likely Starting Before Annual Meeting; Details On Cuts, @Deadline.com:

... Insiders tell Deadline that multiple rounds of cuts are being prepared. The first one is being targeted for next week, we hear. (March 30 or March 31 have been floated as possible dates, but that has not been confirmed.) According to sources, there will be a big wave in late April, described as “the big one” or a “bloodbath,” when a large portion of the cuts are expected to come. ...

Following his promise to investors, Iger is determined to make a “statement” in the coming weeks, one insider says. ...

Virtually every part of the sprawling Entertainment division is expected to be impacted in a meaningful way. ...

Disney is far from alone in paring back. Media and tech companies have laid off thousands of workers during recent turbulent months, with spiking interest rates and foreign currency gyrations among the economic headwinds.

Investors initially cheered Iger’s revelation about streamlining, boosting shares, but the stock has fallen back in recent weeks. It closed Tuesday at $96.54 and has risen about 2% in 2023 to date. Even so, shares now are not much higher than where they crash-landed in March 2020. That was just after Iger passed the CEO baton to Bob Chapek and Covid was beginning to lay siege to almost all of Disney’s operations.

THAT'S *their* reality, for the neXt few wks.

[inisideguy]

What an odd, impotent, POINTLESS comparison. I mean, MM3 was...


on a budget of only $45 million, compared to Shazam FotG's $125 million. For the latter, initial estimates suggested it was eyeing an opening between $43 and $52 million, vs. the $30 it actually did. So it failed to meet financial eXpectations: 'Shazam: Fury of the Gods' Bombs At Box Office with $30M... @Deadline.com

Also, Disney Layoff Rounds Likely Starting Before Annual Meeting; Details On Cuts, @Deadline.com:

THAT'S *their* reality, for the neXt few wks.

Here is another thing I notice. People start talking about Disney stock. Has anyone mentioned Paramount stock? or WB stock? Or Sony stock? You guys think this is just a Disney thing?

[PolarIceFire]

No, for as purposely included:

Disney is far from alone in paring back. Media and tech companies have laid off thousands of workers during recent turbulent months, with spiking interest rates and foreign currency gyrations among the economic headwinds.

[inisideguy]

No, for as purposely included:

Its just selective bias with people. Paramount stock has dropped from a high of 97 dollars a share in to 21 dollars a share in the last two years. Its done awful regardless of what Top Gun 2 did. You get that right. Its stock has done even worse than Disney. Warner Brothers stock has not done well since the separation either. This isnt just a Disney problem. All of these companies are getting hammered with different issues mostly to do with streaming costs.

[numberthirty]

Again...

This is where it feels like folks just have blinders on.

Originally intended to be digitally released exclusively onto HBO Max, following strong test screenings Warner Bros. Pictures opted to give the film a theatrical release.

Long story short?

That means it is a film where the studio saw enough potential to make a buck that it got a theatrical release.

That film that a studio decided to put some resources into based on the money that said studio believed it could make?

The "Comic Book..." movie that is apparently some sort of a dumpster fire made more in it's opening than that film made in two weeks.

So, yeah...

If that is how the "Clunker..." super hero films do?

I have no reason to believe that anything like legitimate "Fatigue..." is setting in when it comes to comic book films.

[Zauriel]

If Shazam 2 film was any indication that Comic Book Movie Fatigue is happening and setting in, then it's a clear indication people are getting tired of comic book movies.

[useridgoeshere]

It's early to say.

I agree that it’s too early to say. I’m only looking at US/Canada box office, because I don’t know what’s going on elsewhere or driving their results like why they might want to watch a detective barbarian more than a family of people who shrink. Fatigue is likely regional/country specific.

Two points based on what I’ve read …

(1) it’s not new that a comic book movie underperforms critically or at the box office. Fantastic Four? Dark Phoenix? Justice League? There have been lots of comic book movies over the past decade that people didn’t want to see. So Morbius and Shazam 2 aren’t breaking new ground.

(2) People are conflating fatigue (moviegoers are tired of comic book movies) with quantity (there are too many comic book movies) and quality (comic movies are worse). These are different topics, even if they lead to the same result.

It’s undeniable that moviegoers are still showing up in droves for multiple superhero movies each year, as evidenced by the opening weekends, total box office results, and year-end results. The big movies have done well.

DS2 / L&T - Beat their previous installments in terms of dollars.
Batman - Did well in a shortened window. Earned a sequel immediately.
Wakanda Forever - the biggest female-led superhero movie ever. The biggest comic book movie of 2022. And all without the main character. If they’d put out Iron Man 2 with no Tony and instead had Pepper as the lead hero, I’m pretty sure it would’ve done worse than IM. Same if Matt Reeves decides make Batman 2 featuring Barbara Gordon instead of Bruce Wayne.
Quantumania - an Ant-Man and Wasp movie opened over $100 million.

None of the that indicates fatigue for comic book movies overall. There are issues with specific movies, but we have yet to see audiences simply not show up.

[Scott Taylor]

I've sensed a little fatigue out there from people I have spoken with. But honestly its hard to tell the difference between hero fatigue and just general movie fatigue. A fair number of people just simply don't go out to movies anymore since the pandemic. And for the rest of us, prices just keep going up.

The theatre model might not be around forever.

[inisideguy]

I agree that it’s too early to say. I’m only looking at US/Canada box office, because I don’t know what’s going on elsewhere or driving their results like why they might want to watch a detective barbarian more than a family of people who shrink. Fatigue is likely regional/country specific.

Two points based on what I’ve read …

(1) it’s not new that a comic book movie underperforms critically or at the box office. Fantastic Four? Dark Phoenix? Justice League? There have been lots of comic book movies over the past decade that people didn’t want to see. So Morbius and Shazam 2 aren’t breaking new ground.

(2) People are conflating fatigue (moviegoers are tired of comic book movies) with quantity (there are too many comic book movies) and quality (comic movies are worse). These are different topics, even if they lead to the same result.

It’s undeniable that moviegoers are still showing up in droves for multiple superhero movies each year, as evidenced by the opening weekends, total box office results, and year-end results. The big movies have done well.

DS2 / L&T - Beat their previous installments in terms of dollars.
Batman - Did well in a shortened window. Earned a sequel immediately.
Wakanda Forever - the biggest female-led superhero movie ever. The biggest comic book movie of 2022. And all without the main character. If they’d put out Iron Man 2 with no Tony and instead had Pepper as the lead hero, I’m pretty sure it would’ve done worse than IM. Same if Matt Reeves decides make Batman 2 featuring Barbara Gordon instead of Bruce Wayne.
Quantumania - an Ant-Man and Wasp movie opened over $100 million.

None of the that indicates fatigue for comic book movies overall. There are issues with specific movies, but we have yet to see audiences simply not show up.

Yea that's another thing I have noticed. People have not brought up all the other bomb comic book movies over the last 15 years. And there has been a crap ton of them.

[superduperman]

I know I personally am sick of them. I stopped watching the MCU after MOM. I have no interest in the DC movies that won't matter two years from now anyway. And even then I'm not sure how much I'll even care when the universe is rebooted. I think people are sick of the "you have to watch everything in order for this to make sense" rule. MOM makes no sense unless you've seen Wandavision. That was the moment I noped out. Maybe it's my age or what but I just can't bring myself to care anymore. There's also the dependence on nostalgia at this point. Michael Keaton coming back as Batman? The guy's 70 years old!

[inisideguy]

I've sensed a little fatigue out there from people I have spoken with. But honestly its hard to tell the difference between hero fatigue and just general movie fatigue. A fair number of people just simply don't go out to movies anymore since the pandemic. And for the rest of us, prices just keep going up.

The theatre model might not be around forever.

Yup I just looked up 2018. 34 movies made 100 million or more domestically. Last year? 18 did.

[kingaliencracker]

Yea that's another thing I have noticed. People have not brought up all the other bomb comic book movies over the last 15 years. And there has been a crap ton of them.

Generally speaking, Marvel has been pretty reliable and therefore the few super hero flops that have occurred since Iron Man have been drowned out by the MCU's success. Phase 4 was the first phase I feel critics and audiences really went after the MCU in a negative way.