Superhero movies, the quintessential summer blockbusters we all know and love, are looking to come back strong starting in May, and the movie genre is not looking to slow down until at least 2020, according to denofgeek.com’s complete superhero movie release calendar.
We’ve all likely seen at least one superhero movie in the past few years. “The Dark Knight” and “The Avengers” couldn’t possibly pass by without notice, and many have been blockbuster hits. Even though the genre is successful, many are wondering when this superhero trend will slow down.
It seems that the major film studios think of moviegoers as an endless supply of ADD-riddled children. Many people are tired of the unoriginal stories and mind-numbing action, but the money keeps flowing. Some of these films will be duds, some not. The studios appear to only care for box office success, and not film quality.
Superhero movies based on original comics belong to perhaps the most profitable genre in Hollywood’s movie history.
“The Avengers” had the highest-earning opening weekend of all time with $207 million and went on to gross more than $1.5 billion worldwide, as did “The Dark Knight.”
“The Avengers: Age of Ultron” is predicted by box office analysts to break its predecessors opening record this May with $217 million in its first weekend, according to a Bloomberg report.
It is astounding as to how many superhero films are preparing for release in the next five years. Marvel will continue its cinematic universe into the 2020s as set out in its three-phase plan.
Warner Bros. is looking to halt Marvel’s success starting next year with “Batman v. Superman,” eventually leading up to a pipeline of Justice League-based flicks.
For 20th Century Fox, its plans include rolling out a few more X-Men films within the next five years as well.
In this profitable genre, success breeds success. Not only have the film budgets continued to climb, but bigger-name actors, directors and producers have become attached to these projects as well.
Hollywood can’t seem to stay away from these heroes – it’s almost as if money shoots out of Superman’s eyes.
Studios also keep remaking films – “Fantastic Four” coming this August is a remake – and viewers are starting to get burnt out, including myself.
I’m not saying we should boycott these films – some of them are incredibly good – but the repetitive genre is starting to take its toll, regardless of the actors attached and the amount of explosions on screen.
Time will only tell if moviegoers get sick of these superhero films, but it is safe to say they will have their comic book movie fix until at least 2020. And by that time, we’ll have seen the world saved a dozen more times over.
Zothner, a sophomore marketing major from Cary, is an opinion writer.
Column: Matt Zothner, Opinion Writer
Cartoon: Emily Howard, Cartoonist