Are Superhero Movies Losing Their Power at the Box Office?

As we progress through 2024, the situation at the box office hasn’t shown much improvement. While’ Inside Out 2′ made a huge impact, effectively saving the summer box office, and Deadpool & Wolverine recently crossed the $1 billion mark, these are the only two films to have reached that milestone this year. However, the problem seems to run much deeper, particularly when it comes to superhero movies.

In the post-COVID era, superhero films have been struggling significantly at the box office, performing anywhere from poorly to disastrously. This trend suggests that the issue may be more profound than initially thought.

Despite some well-received releases, both Marvel and DC superhero movies are having a hard time achieving box office success, while films outside this genre have been thriving. So, what could be causing this downturn?

Before we dive deeper into our analysis, check out this video created by our friends at Culture Crave:

As you can see, only eight movies have crossed the $1 billion mark in the post-COVID era, with just two of them being superhero films. The first of these, Spider-Man: No Way Home, ‘released back in 2021, succeeded largely because it brought together all three Spider-Men on the big screen. Since then, no superhero film has reached this milestone until this year’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ which is rather disappointing.

Before the pandemic, superhero movies regularly hit or came close to this benchmark, but they’ve struggled to do so since. In contrast, animated films and other genres have seen much more success, which could be an indication that superhero films are indeed losing their appeal.

Despite industry leaders, like Kevin Feige, insisting that “superhero fatigue” isn’t real, the fact remains that audiences aren’t flocking to theaters for superhero movies like they once did. Venom flopped, DC’s films improved with the “death” of the DCEU, but box office results didn’t reflect that, and Marvel faced a string of disappointments until ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’

While the future of these trends is uncertain, the numbers are clear. They serve as a warning to major studios to rethink their strategies moving forward.

Got any thoughts on this? Share them in the comments below!

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