‘Ant-Man’ and ‘The Flash’ announce the definitive end of the superhero movie: failures follow one another
In 2025, the Justice League-focused DC Expanded Universe will see a massive reboot with Superman: Legacy from guardians of the galaxy vol. 3Director James Gunn. But aren’t we already a bit lost by then?
Since the conclusion of Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga, revenue from superhero movies has plummeted, with a few exceptions. There are even big (financial) flops, especially in the field of Warner Bros. and DC movies.
Superhero madness in 2022
The subgenre has left a strong mark on the big screen and the small screen for nearly 25 years. In 2022 there were no less than 20 premieres. So overproduction and superhero fatigue are clearly on the horizon.
Last year there were movies about Batman, Morbius, Doctor Strange, Thor, Super-Pets, Samaritan, Black Adam and Black Panther. Series and specials also appeared on Peacemaker, The Boys, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Groot, She-Hulk, Werewolf by Night, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
End of the superhero?
Certainly not every movie and series can be called a hit. Morbius and Black Adam flopped financially, and the reception of multiple Marvel productions was lackluster. For example, Thor: Love and Thunder scored pretty low compared to previous movies in the MCU.
This year is no different, but it is more worrying. Weak revenues and questionable financial results follow with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (the true starting point of Phase Two), Shazam! fury of the gods in The flash. This year, only Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, even if it’s not over a billion. The recent gritty Disney+ series secret invasion It doesn’t rate very well with criticism.
Too weak DC movies
As it turns out, DC movies in particular are underperforming. Despite a very reasonable reception to The Flash, the movie is financially woeful and Warner Bros. will. worrying about the future.
Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom are due to be released this year and seem to suffer considerably from the negative buzz about the DC Universe (Extended). The Arrival of the Standalone Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) and The Batman: Part II (2025) are bright spots. The so-called DC Elsewhere movies.
Marvel: Do you save?
Marvel Studios had great success with the movies about the battle of the original Avengers and Thanos and the Infinity Stones. The series was completed in 2019. Marvel’s new heroes and villains have been widely varied ever since. Also think Eternals and She-Hulk. The future is also unstable.
This year is rounded out by The Marvels movie (not necessarily the strongest number) and we still have the series. Loki (season 2) and Echo. In 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine, the new Captain America, and the Thunderbolts team must keep the franchise alive, plus shows about at least Ironheart, Agatha, and Daredevil.
Spiderman
After 2021’s solid Spider-Man: No Way Home in many ways, Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse seems to be calling itself the biggest hit in the genre this year. An animated movie. The sequel Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will be released in 2024.
Also, movies like Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web, rated R, could be more successful. The movies appear to be fairly standalone and steps into Sony’s larger Spider-Man Universe. The downside: without the help of Marvel Studios, Sony really didn’t pack a punch on quality.
Time for nostalgia?
There is a chance that the movie audience will become a bit nostalgic and ignore superheroes more and more. Last year, Top Gun: Maverick proved that the traditional action movie can start to gain ground. John Wick: Chapter 4 scored strongly this year.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Oppenheimer will follow this year and perhaps Hollywood will increasingly go for recognizable action movies in the years to come.
Until 2027
It’s clear that we’ll be seeing plenty of superhero movies on the big screen through 2027. In May 2027, Phase Two of the MCU will be complete with Avengers: Secret Wars and then we’ll have gotten DC movies about a new Superman and (again) a new Batman. . Sony will likely have further milked the animated Spider-Verse and live-action villain series.
A second MCU resurrection will likely be very difficult and the DC Universe really has to do things very differently to be (financially) convincing. Sony has yet to prove itself with its Spider-Man Universe. So yeah, we’ll probably be completely done in about four years.