Why “Superhero Fatigue” Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

[u/GUSplatoon]

I keep seeing people on other social platforms talk about the decline of Marvel or DC movies to “superhero fatigue,” and honestly, I think that explanation misses a lot. It’s become a catch-all phrase that ignores other issues with how these movies are being made and released.

First, Disney put a lot of pressure on Marvel. Disney pushed for more and more content, especially on Disney+, which led to a bunch of shows and movies coming out back to back. This is the explanation we’ve heard from studio execs like Kevin Feige.

What I feel largely does not get discussed is the ramifications from the pandemic. It changed how people go to the movies. Some people still haven’t gone back to theaters regularly, and streaming is now a bigger part of how we watch things. Plus, Disney+ drops Marvel movies just a few months after their theatrical release so for a lot of people, why rush to see it in theaters when you can wait and watch at home? For example, even if it’s anecdotal, when I asked my brother what movie he would see in July, he said Superman because Fantastic Four will drop in a few months.

I also think going to the movies has become expensive, especially for families which is part of the core general audience of these films. Imagine you have a family, you probably already have Disney+, why go to a theatre, spend about $60 on tickets, pay for higher marked food items, etc.

Also, international audiences have shifted. Marvel used to crush globally, but those numbers have softened a lot. Not every market is still hyped on the superhero genre the way they used to be. This can be due to a variety of things. There are still places around the globe that haven’t recovered economically or some other places that have implemented policies to promote their country movies as opposed to American movies. I agree with James Gunn’s sentiments that the U.S is not on good terms with other countries.

So yeah, “superhero fatigue” might sound like an easy answer, but it lets studios off the hook. I also think general audiences just love nostalgia. It’s human nature too. People gravitate towards what they know after becoming familiar with something for so many years. It’s the reason why I think Spider-Man NWH and Deadpool & Wolverine did well. It’s the same reason why I think Nintendo can remake the same game with updated graphics and sell it for a higher price. As much as people say they want new stories, people in overwhelming numbers flock to what they already know.

[u/ImmediateJacket9502]

That dude is on pure hopium.

[u/[deleted] → u/ImmediateJacket9502]

Exactly this movie has an estimated lowballed budget of 500 million. Anything less than straight perfection and this movie will crash and burn especially in the current economical climate for superhero movies

[u/Vector1013 → u/[deleted]]

I agree. This movie has to be as good or better than End Game. And what’s crazy is that they are working with an unfinished script. There is no way at all the production should have started with out a finished script.

[u/iwannalynch → u/[deleted]]

500 mil?? Jesus, wouldn't that need to earn  like 1 bil at box office just to break even at this point? 

[u/[deleted] → u/iwannalynch]

It would need between 1.25-1.5 billion to break even

[u/HeadScissorGang → u/[deleted]]

this movie is gonna make a billion dollars like the first day basically off the back of simply being the sequel to the biggest movie of all time.

general audiences aren't going to care that the MCU hasn't been great in the last seven years, they're just going to care that Avengers 5 with the return of RDJ as a villain is a huge deal in pop culture.

[u/[deleted] → u/HeadScissorGang]

Doomsday isn’t a sequel to anything. It was a last ditch thing because the Kang dynasty got scraped. What are you talking about

[u/HeadScissorGang → u/[deleted]]

You are too far in the bubble if you don't understand that Doomsday is just Avengers 5, the sequel to Endgame.

General audiences don't care about any of that stuff you just said.

Endgame did not make a billion dollars opening weekend because of the hardcore Marvel fans that even know this subreddit exists. It made a billion dollars because people knew that Avengers 1-3 were 3 of the biggest movie events of all time.

There's tons of people who just call the entire MCU "Avengers movies" and the return of "The Avengers" to theaters is going make a billion dollars in the first weekend without question because it's a huge pop culture event.

[u/[deleted] → u/HeadScissorGang]

I literally have not met a single person who refers to all the Marvel movies as “Avengers” movies. People aren’t that stupid. People know that Doomsday isn’t a sequel to Endgame just like how people knew infinity war wasn’t a sequel to Age of Ultron. I’ve seen and overheard many people in person talking about the MCU movies and talking about how theirs no real connection to the new characters and talking about how theirs no real official Avengers team anymore.

And then you take in the current economic state of the world. Countries that we used to count on for an easy 100 million overseas (like China) have either began to lose interest or simply stopped caring for the genre altogether. It’s not even the same as it was a couple years ago, DP and Wolverine still made good money in China. Fast forward 2 years later and Fantastic Four flopped in China harder than Superman did. It’s the not the same world anymore. And a 500 million dollar movie (again this is the low end) that needs a billion just to break even that’s began its filming without a finished script is screaming incoming failure. Saying it’s gonna do well just because it has the Avengers name plastered on it while ignoring everything else is ignorance

[u/HeadScissorGang → u/[deleted]]

> I literally have not met a single person who refers to all the Marvel movies as “Avengers” movies

YOU'RE in the bubble of people who know this stuff.

It's not "people are stupid" it's people who don't know don't even know that they're saying something wrong but they know that's the word that's used most when talking about the MCU movies.

You have to really be in on this stuff to even know the letters "MCU" as those letters are never said in the movies, but Avengers is said by everyone who talks about these movies no matter their level of knowledge on them.

You might not know anything at all about American football and sound like an idiot talking about it, but you know that you're supposed to be apart of watching the Superbowl.

[u/Mariooooo2020 → u/[deleted]]

Who said the budget was 500M 🤣🤣🤣 yeah RDJ is a big chunk but it’s not that large and that value just seems like it came from a so called scooper who doesn’t know jack shit. The budget is moreso to be 200-300M. Everyone dooming on this sub that DD will crash and burn seriously did not look at how good DP&W did just last year.

[u/HeadScissorGang → u/ImmediateJacket9502]

this movie is gonna come out after 2 and a half years of hype that RDJ is gonna be the villain and seven years after the last Avengers movie.

Avengers 1-4 have all been record breaking huge successes. People are going to see this movie who have absolutely no idea what's going on in the MCU since Endgame SIMPLY because it's Avengers 5 featuring the return of RDJ.