Hanging up the cape?

WESTON HIRVELA
STAFF WRITER

1/29/2024

This year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will be turning 15 years old as of the Iron Man (2008) release. This year also marks the ending of the DC Znyder-verse and the birth of James Gunn’s take on a DC cinematic universe. People have started to become bored of this genre of film that has been at the forefront of the Blockbuster lists. The question remains: is the superhero film dead?

Since the grand Avengers love letter, Avengers: Endgame, released in 2019, there have been 12 movies, ten television shows and two specials released all with widely varying levels of success. 

In the other corner of this superhero ring is DC Comics which has had 12 theatrical movies, 25 digitally released animated films and started 11 television shows in the last five years. This is without counting smaller properties that have gained audiences’ attention such as Sony’s Spider-Man adjacent movies or the shows Invincible, The Boys or Umbrella Academy, which are still airing today. There is certainly no shortage of superheroes on our screens. 

Audiences have begun to grow tired of the flood of superhero films as seen in recent box office revenues. In 2018 (a year before the release of Endgame), the superhero craze was at its height with six of the top ten highest-grossing films being superhero films, compared to 2023 only having three of the top ten being superhero films. 

Taking into consideration Black Panther (2018), the highest-grossing film of that year, having made 700 billion dollars and looking to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) which made only 381 billion dollars (the highest-grossing superhero film of 2023), there is a clear difference. 

Not only have the highs sunk, but the lows have dipped. The Marvels (2023) made history as Marvel’s lowest weekend-grossing film since The Incredible Hulk (2008) grossing only $47 million. 

In the eyes of the audience and critics alike, these films have declined in quality. Films like Eternals (2021), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Morbius (2022) and other similar films were considered to be lacking in comparison to previous superhero films. Critic ratings and opinions of recent films of the genre have received negative responses. It feels like Avengers: Endgame was a swan song for the genre. However, is that really the case?

Projects like Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2023), The Suicide Squad (2021) or My Adventures with Superman (2023) have seen love from critics and audiences. Are these exceptions to the rule of declining viewership? No, rather the true fatigue is from the interconnectedness of the genre that encourages viewers to consume every single film released.​ 

While there is an oversaturation of superhero films, the same could be said for any genre of film. For example, there is a large number of romantic comedies with five being released in Jan. of 2023 alone. The fatigue doesn’t come solely from the growing number of projects. Rather, it comes from an aspect that made the superhero formula successful before: the interconnected universe. 

Do you want to know the origin of Kang in Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania (2022)? Then you should watch Loki (2021) Season One. Why is Henry Cavill no longer Superman? I suppose you’ll have to find out by watching The Flash (2023). There is a larger push to watch every single piece of superhero media to be in on the references and full story. One can feel burnt out trying to keep up with the ever-expanding library of connected stories.

The mediocre films become tiring, but we force ourselves to buy tickets so that we can understand films that interest us. The genre is simply falling out of its dominating position of years past. You don’t need to watch every romantic comedy or action film that is released, so try to take breaks from the genre. Watch films and shows that interest you, and you’ll find you’re only tired of watching films that don’t interest you in the first place.