The superhero era is dead, and video games are taking their place
I’m going to go ahead and double down when I said that Five Nights at Freddy’s was the worst movie I’ve seen in 2023. My opinion is damn sure not going to change anytime soon, but I can’t deny that audiences showed up and made it one of the most successful video game film adaptations of all time.
Just compare the performance of Five Nights at Freddy’s to that of Disney’s latest superhero epic, The Marvels. The former has so far raked in almost $300 million worldwide against a reportedly minuscule budget of only $25 million. The Marvels, by comparison, is said to have cost over $400 million between VFX, reshoots, marketing, and more; it has yet to hit $200 million at the worldwide box office.
While superhero movies are bombing, there only seems to be more and more hype building for video game adaptations. Look at the buzz and excitement surrounding the recent announcement of a live-action Zelda movie. And it’s because of the way these two events have intersected that I’ve started cooking up a new theory: Superhero movies are dead, and video games are the future guaranteed moneymakers at the box office.
You might scoff, but it’s not the most preposterous statement. Superhero films have had a good run; they’ve been raking in cash even before the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2008. But if we look at the returns, the public has started losing interest in these caped crusaders.
The Marvels is just one example, but I can name some others. Blade, a film I’m actually quite excited about, has been in production hell for a while now and has been pushed back to 2025. Films like Wonder Woman 1984, The Flash, Black Adam, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, to name a few, have all grossly underperformed at the box office. Even as an adamant fan of superheroes and superhero films, I’ve personally grown fatigued with following the Marvel phases and keeping up with the various narratives required to understand what’s happening in the universe—especially now that half of those stories require watching a full streaming series on Disney Plus.
Part of the problem is that superhero movies feel like they’re beating a dead horse at this point. As much as I might have loved the MCU, it seems like it’s been stuck in the same formula ever since Thanos was snapped out of existence. With video game adaptations, though, the possibilities are still fresh and essentially endless. My mind reels when I think of what could be coming next.
And that’s not to say that what we’ve had so far has been bad either. Even outside of stinkers like Five Nights at Freddy’s, we’ve seen some incredible (and incredibly successful) video game movie adaptations in recent years: The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel, Detective Pikachu, and more coming soon. While there aren’t many details yet about the movie itself, the fact that the live-action Zelda flick will be a collaboration between Nintendo and Sony Pictures gives me goose bumps. There are so many games franchises I’d love to see in theaters next as well.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie and 5 games that should be turned into films
https://www.taptap.io/post/5075780
Just imagine a Metroid movie that takes its cues from classics like Alien; a Metal Gear Solid flick that could overtake the Bond franchise in what we expect from a spy thriller; or a God of War film that can finally blend fantasy and action in a way that the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans failed to do. There are so many possibilities for adapting popular game franchises. Just another superhero film seems dull by comparison.
With so many video game franchises that have the potential to make an impact on audiences and succeed financially, superhero films are going to have to change the formula a bit if they hope to compete. And though Approving an R rating for movies like Blade is a nice way to attract more adults to the film, it's not the saving grace for the genre.
The video game adaptation renaissance appears to finally be upon us. If the folks at DC and Marvel want to keep up, they’ll need more than just big budgets and fancy CGI to sway audiences at the box office. Then again, maybe this rise in box office competition is the motivation needed to get the superhero creative juices flowing again.
💬 Are superhero films dying? And what game franchises should be turned into movies? Let me know in the comments.
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