There’s no question about it, comic-book movies are the biggest blockbusters of 2018.
The highest grossing film this year is Avengers: Infinity War ($2,046,459,205) and Black Panther ($1,346,851,257). Deadpool 2 ($734, 198,183), as well as Ant-man and the Wasp ($610, 557,597), did exceedingly well.
Surprisingly, Comic-book films weren’t conventional before the 2000’s. The X-men and Spider-man series were the first installments to put superhero movies on a mainstream platform. For example, in 2000, only one comic-book film appeared on the big screen which and that made $296,339,527. In 2007, three superhero movies premiered and the combined revenue at the box office was just under $1.5 million. In 2012, another three comic-book pictures were released and overall earned $3,361,682,750. In 2017, six superhero flicks debuted and the revenue totaled to $4,696,692,844.
One of the main factors as to why this genre has become so prevalent is due to through the technological advancement of special effects and Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI). CGI truly transforms a movie by creating more fluid, realistic, and jaw-dropping action scenes. It’s also one of the reasons why superhero movies have such large budgets.
The budget price tage for Avengers: Infinity war was $330,600,000m while an average film’s expenses are between $100,000,000 and $150,000,000.
Serialization sequels are another reason comic-book movies are so popular. Having multiple movie projects that follow the same characters also provides a similar format to the comic books themselves. A perfect example of this is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The MCU has demonstrated how to establish multiple superhero movies by constructing a setting, also known as world-building, to keep the audience interested. Continuity is a major influence in world-building and is one of the main praises for the MCU. Avengers: Infinity war ($2,046,459,205) is the fourth highest-grossing film of all time and it involves a huge portion of the MCU cast. Watching other Marvel movies enhances how the film is viewed. Without seeing the Thor franchise, Spider-man: homecoming, Black Panther, the Iron-man films, Doctor Strange, and both Guardians of the Galaxy volumes, the viewer would not receive all of the back story, development, and humor.
To me personally, the biggest influence on the popularity of superhero movies are their themes. Many of these installments have generally likable protagonists with motives and values that are easy to comprehend and relatable. The most recent Spider-man expresses that a nerdy high school student is also an amazing superhero. He often uses science and invents many of his gadgets and weapons. He is also genuine and witty. Superhero movies are set in a supernatural world, yet there are parallels between the movie’s universe and the viewer’s own.
People often want to relax for a couple hours and an exciting story, with the simple notion of good versus evil, is a great way for people to escape reality. Those who are passionate about the films often want to share their enjoyment with others. Engaging in the fun sends a positive message of the franchise into the world out to the Universe.
Lauren Hoke, Guest Writer
Sources: BoxOffice Mojo, ComicVerse, TheNumbers.com and ParlayStudios