Superhero film
The films typically contain genre elements of action, adventure, fantasy, or science fiction, and often address themes of power, justice, morality, and immortality.
In the following decades, the decline of Saturday matinee showings of serials, along with the turmoil in the comic book industry, slowed superhero motion picture production except for Superman and the Mole Men (1951), starring George Reeves, and Batman (1966), a big-screen extension of the Batman television series starring Adam West.
[16] The rise in popularity of television superheroes in Japan led to the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori in 1971 and 1975, respectively.
[20] The same year Toei Company's Spider-Man reimagining and the first Super Sentai crossover film, JAKQ Dengekitai vs. Gorenger, were released.
[26] While commercially successful, Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (1997) was critically panned for its campiness[27] and deviation from the darker style of the series' first two films directed by Tim Burton.
A few months later, The Dark Knight was released to widespread critical acclaim and became the first superhero movie to make over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
[46] On March 9, 2015, publishing house Valiant Comics made a nine-figure deal with Chinese company DMG Entertainment to produce their series of superhero movies set in their cinematic universe.
[59] In addition, Incredibles 2 had its wide release in June 2018, and was met with considerable critical acclaim[60] and earned $182.68 million during its premiere weekend.
[citation needed] The antihero film Venom, based on the comic book character, was released in October 2018 to poor reviews but box-office success.
[64] Later in April, the DCEU's Shazam!, featuring the lead character who was previously known as Captain Marvel, had decent box office success for a relatively low budget,[65] which has been seen as further evidence of the revitalization of the Warner Bros. media franchise.
That same month, Avengers: Endgame ended the Infinity Saga to widespread acclaim, broke numerous box office records, and became the fastest film to exceed $1 billion worldwide, doing so in just five days.
[67] In July 2019, Phase 3 of the MCU was concluded with the Marvel and Sony co-produced film Spider-Man: Far From Home, which was released to critical and commercial success.
[69] The second and third films in the series, Sri Asih and Patriot Taruna: Virgo and the Sparklings, were announced for a 2020 release but were pushed back to 2021 as production was significantly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The poor performance was attributed to the disruption of cinema during the COVID-19 pandemic (particularly the Delta variant) and confusion from the general audience on whether the film was a sequel, reboot, or remake.
[72][73] Meanwhile, Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings broke Labor Day records,[74] while similar successes were seen in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
It was a critical and commercial hit, with praise for the film being a grounded detective story,[84] due to Matt Reeves' direction and Robert Pattinson's performance as the titular hero.
[87] Variety reported whilst the initial opening was hopeful for Morbius, "the character is not nearly as recognizable to general audiences as Spider-Man, Batman or Venom, nor is the film clearly connected to a larger story like Eternals or Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
"[88] Scott Mendelson further stated Sony seemed to rely on the film's connection to the Spider-Man universe, the success of Venom and a misguided assumption that audiences were interested in villain movies.
Joaquin Phoenix reprised his role as The Joker and Lady Gaga made her superhero film debut as Harley Quinn.
Joker: Folie a Deux was followed by Sony Spider-Man Universe films Venom: The Last Dance in November 2024, and Kraven the Hunter in December 2024.
[105] In 1968, VIP my Brother Superman was released, directed by Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto; it parodied the superhero genre[106] and was a financial success.
[107] In 2004, Pixar released The Incredibles, about a retired superhero couple and their children, which did extremely well both critically and financially and went on to win the Academy Award.
[citation needed] In 2018, three theatrical animated superhero films were released to critical and commercial success: Pixar's Incredibles 2, Warner Bros.' Teen Titans Go!
[citation needed] As the number of superhero films being produced increased during the latter end of the 2010s, the genre's contribution to cinema was questioned.
In a 2019 interview with Empire magazine, American filmmaker Martin Scorsese commented, "The closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks.
[110] He later added he was worried about studios' dependence on the format because in "many places around this country and the world, franchise films are now your primary choice if you want to see something on the big screen.
[113] Some media commentators have attributed the increasingly popular superhero franchises in the new millennium to the social and political climate in Western society since the September 11 attacks,[114] although others have argued advances in special effects technology have played a more significant role.
Writer Alan Moore, a veteran of the comics industry known for his work on Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Batman: The Killing Joke, and From Hell, has expressed criticism of modern superhero movies in general, which he once called a "blight" to cinema and "also to culture to a degree."
"[117][118]In a September 2023 interview with The Telegraph, Moore reiterated this view, saying what had appealed to him most about output from comics publishers was "no more," saying, "Now they're called 'graphic novels', which sounds sophisticated, and you can charge a lot more for them.
During that same interview, journalist Jake Kerridge asked Moore if it was true he divided the money he had received from onscreen adaptations of his work among the writers and other staff persons of those productions.
