A previous OPIGlet discussed biscuits in his blog post.
Not to be outdone, I will now discuss something even more nerdy: new avenues for comic book adapations. For brevity’s sake, this OPIGlet will focus on the DC and Marvel Corporations as key examples.1
1.The current era of comic book movies
Currently, Comic book movies movies are a lucrative business in terms of investment and returns – Marvel’s first Avengers movie (2012) crossed over $1.5 billion worldwide against a reported budget of $220 million; Avengers Endgame crossed over $2.798 billion at the box office advice against a budget of 356 million.
Meanwhile, DC’s Superman vs Batman was considered a commercial disappointment as it made “only” $860m against a budget of $250-300 million; this relatively low number is particularly alarming, since it was the first live-action appearance of DC’s best-known superheroes, their “Trinity” (Wonderwoman, Superman, Batman), and the anticipation that it would make over a $1 billion at the box office. This OPIGlet was not surprised about this movie performance for reasons discussed in Section 3.
These high numbers do not include money made from fan conventions, revenue from DVD sales and merchandise. Make no mistake – comic book movies are a $ billion dollar business, which inevitably leads to the Million Dollar Question (pun intended):
2. Have people customers grown tired of comic book movies? Will they continue to buy tickets?
As a Statistician, I conducted a Random OPIG Poll2 by questioning 10 random OPIGlets whether they watch comic book movies : The majority (8 people) watches or has watched comic book movies at least once; further separation in terms of producing studios revealed that 5 people primarily watched Marvel movies and 3 people watched movies from Marvel, SONY, DC and FOX.
However, three of the five people watching Marvel movies claimed that, paraphrased, “they were forced to watch said movies by friends“, which is not exactly a ringing endorsement. Further probing also revealed that at least 2 people thought that “Aquaman was a Marvel movie”, because “it looked like one“, which is not a ringing endorsement for the marketing people at DC, and also raises the questions whether movies need to follow the “Marvel formula” to be successful.
When asked about the “Marvel Formula”, OPIGlets answered that they would prefer Marvel movies to “use compelling characters and story”, “take a risk”, “stop with the queerbaiting” and “not follow the same formula again and again.”
3. So, DC, Marvel – what can you do to keep your customers happy?
Similar concerns has been voiced by critics so far. However, so far, movies from FOX and DC seems to hit and miss (Logan and Dark Phoenix, cough, cough), while Marvel seems to be on a winning roll.
So what can the different studios do?
Marvel is getting full 10/10s from this Judge.
Marvel movies. It seems to me that Marvel has realized the potential of using female and black superheroes (and the benefits of diversifying their portfolio according to the audience’s wishes) after the success of Captain Marvel (budget $152-175 million, box office: $1.128 billion) and Black Panther ($200 million, box office: $1.347 billion), since they are now developing sequels for these movies and introducing more superheroes of mixed color, including two-time academy award winner Ali Mahershala as black hero Blade.
So what other advice to give to Marvel? Marvel has great actors under contract in an established universe with clearly defined projects and story lines, and (so it appears to me) a great creative team which keeps things under control and on tight budget and timelines. Since I am highly confident that you won’t try to make riskier movies such as 2019’s Joker by DC3, but more “family-orientated movies” or go beyond queerbaiting4, I would only make one warning:
People seem to tire of Marvel movies. Spread them out. Diversify cast and story line. Make stories as relevant to current issues as possible – Black Panther was a good example in the differing point of views of T’Challa and “villain” Killmonger in terms of black history.
However, I am confident that Marvel is already aware that people seem to tire of its movies:
its owner, Disney, has now announced that it will also develop more four Star Wars films, four Avatar sequels and one new Indiana Jones, additionally to the slated eight Marvel instalments, presumably to counter a potential “Marvel Fatigue”.
Disney’s Head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, is now developing a Star Wars Movie; cynics such as me might wonder whether this is the first step in creating a new billion dollar business along with Marvel, especially since the last Star Wars Movie, Solo, was an office disappointment with a box office revenue of $ 392 million dollars against a budget of $ 275-300 million.
DC is getting the “Pull Yourself Together” rating from this Judge.
In my opinion, DC has the best collection of different superheroes and associated villains, with really good stories, for example:
- Flashpoint Paradox
- Superman: Injustice – God Among Us
- The Death of Superman
- Superman Birthright or All-Star Superman.
- Superman : Red Son
- Batman: No Man’s Land
- Batman vs. Superman
While they may not be directly translatable to the silver screen, they still provide a rich treasure trove of interesting movie ideas. However, in my opinion, when it comes to exploiting these ideas, DC struggles. Let me illustrate with the aforementioned box office disappointment Batman vs. Superman.
Batman vs. Superman (2016) – a Box Office Bomb
DC, honest opinion? In one sentence: DC lacked confidence and build-up of its characters and their relationship and lack of a clear and engaging storyline. Instead, stumbling to catch up on Marvel’s success, DC threw tons of information at the movie goer, trying to set up too many story lines.
I counted at least potential storylines being set up: the superhero Flash is travelling through time to warn Batman (a muddled version of the famous Flashpoint Paradox story line) in an extremely confusing scene for the uninitiated, Superman as the evil dictator is the key point of the Superman: Injustice Storyline, while the monsters and the omega sigil burnt into the ground are associated with Superman’s most dangerous archenemy Darkseid. Additionally, there is the beginning of the Justice League (the meeting between Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman) and the acrimony between Batman and Superman.
Why bring in Doomsday and Superman’s Death so early? This is one of the decisions I will never understand. For the non-nerdy reader, Doomsday is a supervillain, an unstoppable killing machine with strength equal or greater than Superman’s, essentially a force of nature. Superman sacrificed himself to kill him in the Death of Superman storyline.
In Superman vs. Batman, Superman again sacrifices himself, only to be “resurrected” via a hamstrung method in the next movie because of “plot reasons” . It lacked an emotional punch; there were no lasting consequences.
However, if Superman had been killed in a much later movie, his potential revival would have had a more drastic emotional impact and would have cemented DC’s status as the “dark, realistic” antithesis to Marvel.
This would have tied in nicely with the Superman: Injustice Storyline, a story line in which Superman becomes an evil dictator after loosing his wife Lois and their unborn child. Why am I bringing up the Superman: Injustice Storyline? Because in a confusing scene, Batman dreams of Superman becoming an evil leader of monsters and is awakened by an unidentified person coming through an portal, who warns him that “Lois is the key” and to “find the others” – this corresponds to a teasing of the “Evil Dictator Superman Story line”.
Marvel Producer Kevin Feige (Marvel) wrote “There are too many story lines [in your movie] and we need to choose which ones we are focusing on and lift out the other ones, i.e []…” to the SONY executives in a now infamous email, warning them that they were “overloading” their movie, “Amazing Spiderman 2”.
I would say the same about Batman vs. Superman.
So my Advice to DC?
Take risks and make your movies relevant. You don’t need a large budget for that.
DC’s latest movie, Joker, had a budget of 55-70 $ million dollar and a current revenue of around 949.7 $ million at the box office. This movie had the lowest budget of all DC movies current out and is currently hailed as the most acclaimed DC movie and the first R-rated movie to cross 1 billion $ solely at the box office. Protesters in Chile and Hongkong are running around with Joker masks – DC hit a nerve. Take note.
Aquaman? The movie people in my group confused with a Marvel movie? DC, keep it light-hearted by all means, but insert topics relevant to today: “protection of the ocean” was already used in the last movie, but it would be interesting to see how hot-headed undiplomatic Aquaman fares when he has to come up with a peaceful solution to protect the oceans, perhaps working together with brother and former enemy, Orn. DC doesn’t have to ditch the action, but just weave it into a relevant coherent, intelligent story which doesn’t rely on plot points or wild scavenger hunts.
Take your time to develop your universe. When I watched the trailer for the next Harley Quinn movie, “Birds of Prey: The fabulous emancipation of Harley Quinn”, a movie about the team up of villainous Harley Quinn, the vigilante Huntress and heroine Black Canary, the first thing I thought was “A Harley Quinn movie, which relies on Harley Quinn, but not on solid story and convincing background characters.”
I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover nor a movie by its trailer. But DC, why should I go see a movie about Harley Quinn, if I am not convinced in the story and in the side characters? Both the Huntress and Black Canary have interesting story lines in their own right, but in this trailer at least, they seem to be only used only as side characters for the “Harley Quinn One Girl” show. Additionally, apart from the villain, it seems to be one all-girls show – which, if executed poorly, could result in a box office performance far below the projected number.
If executed properly, Huntress, a vigilante caught between her criminal origins and her zest for justice, could be teamed up with a Black Canary, potentially a Lawyer, in a stand-alone movie. This alone would provide enough conflict, which paired with a good story line, could be reminiscent of the successful Joker movie, and could draw in female viewers.
Don’t run.Walk. Scrawl if you have to. And have ONE person in creative control.
There is still a rumor going around that the suicide squad director David Ayer had to write the script for this movie in 6 weeks – this, combined with the statement that “There was “a lot of panic and ego instead of calmly addressing the tonal issue” and the potential existence of two cuts of the same movie makes it sound as if there was no clear concept from the start.
Writing a script in six weeks from conception to finished product? Was there enough time for internal revisions? And who had the creative control?
If the story above is true, then I would advise DC to work on their management and their creative control.
You have great characters and relationships and story lines. Use them.
Lastly, DC has great story lines, compelling characters and good relationships. DC should work on a game plan to bring these to the big screen in a structured manner, introducing characters with plot lines and potential team-ups already in mind, with story lines.
OPIGLET out.
1 This OPIGlet would really like SONY to know that she loved “Into The Spider-Verse” and would willingly buy tickets for the sequel.
2 I must note that this “study” was performed on a lunch-break, includes people aged 21-28, and includes 4 men and 6 women, and only among OPIGlets, and is thus only a representative sample of this particular research group.
3With the exception of Deadpool. But since this movie already made lots at the box office, so I am not surprised that a third part is now in development.
4Yes, Marvel, I know that an openly LGBTQ+-character, Valkyrie, is supposed to be introduced in “Thor: Love of God and Thunder.” But based on my impression, her storyline will be handled as “diplomatically” as possible to keep families happy.
