Over the weekend, a movie was released that made headlines. A movie that fans had been anticipating for years, but almost lost hope it would never be. A movie with outrageous humor, a self aware tone, and a "we don't care who gets offended" attitude, that some found refreshing, and others found off-putting. That movie... Was Zoolander 2!
Oh yeah, and Deadpool made over $130 Million, breaking the Valentine's Day record (take that, Fifty Shades of Grey!), and the R-Rated Comic Book Movie Curse.
The success of Deadpool has left all of Hollywood, even Fox, in shock and awe. Studio execs are trying to figure out what it was about this little comic book movie that struck a chord with audiences. Was it the R-rating? Was it the breaking of the 4th wall? Was it Ryan Reynolds? Was it the fact that it was unique and nothing like it has been done before? (It's the last one. But studio executives might not figure that out. Shh!)
Meanwhile, the weekend contained good news and bad news for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The good news is that a new trailer was released online that got fans excited again after a lackluster trailer back in December.
But the excitement quickly turned back to worry after the bad news, which was that according to Drew McWeeny on HitFix, Warner Bros. is actually WORRIED about how audiences would respond to Batman v Superman based on early screenings. McWeeny claims to have special connections to Warner Bros.
This got fans worried if Batman V. Superman will be everything they feared: an over-stuffed, over crowded cash grab trying to catch up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But maybe it's not the quality of the film itself that Warner Bros. is worried about, but rather the audience's reaction to the film?
But if the film itself is not the problem, why would Warner Bros. be worried about audience reactions? I mean, they're giving audiences what they want, right? A dark, brooding Batman fighting a dark, brooding Superman in a dark, brooding cinematic universe. That's what audiences want to see, right? Right? RIGHT?
Maybe not. Maybe the success of Deadpool is not only a testament of brilliant marketing, but also of the current taste of audiences. Maybe audiences crave more light-hearted, self aware comic book movies like Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy, and are starting to get fatigued of dark, gritty, Nolany superhero films like Man Of Steel. So the question: Are audiences getting tired of dark superhero moves?
It seems like yesterday, dark super hero movies were all the rage with Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Before Batman Begins, superhero movies were filled with colorful, fantastical action scenes, cheesy one liners, and cartoony villains. They knew they were set in comic book worlds and were proud of it. The X-Men movies and the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies started asking big questions about super hero movies. If you have amazing powers, how should you use them? What is more important, your relationships or your responsibilities as a hero? They had deep philosophies, but still maintained their comic book movie identity. Batman Begins made it look like Batman took place in the real world. It made it seem like a billionaire could develop martial arts skills and design a high tech suit to fight crime. There were no more ice puns or Bat credit cards. This was Batman for adults. The Dark Knight elevated the universe of Begins and gave us a super hero saga like no other. Heath Ledger's Joker wasn't a typical one dimensional comic book villain. He was a demented, insane, sadist who challenged Batman's own values. It delve even deeper into the morality of a super hero, and made audiences think. It really captured America's fears and uncertainties post-9/11. It could almost be qualified more as a political drama than a comic book movie. It got so much acclaim from critics that it not only earned Heath Ledger a (much deserved) posthumous Oscar for Best Supportinng Actor, but also made people outraged that it wasn't nominated for Best Picture. So much that the Academy had to extend the Best Picture category to ten (soon nine) movies a year.
Think about that for a minute. People were OUTRAGED that a BATMAN movie was not nominated for BEST PICTURE!!!
Ten years ago, people would have laughed at such an idea. It shows not only how far the comic book movie genre has come, but also how audiences attitudes towards superhero movies have changed.
Remember when everyone thought Iron Man looked silly? Now Robert Downy Jr. is the highest paid actor in Hollywood for playing him. Remember when nobody knew who Groot was? And now almost everyone wears his catchphrase on a T-Shirt.
But how did we go from being angry about The Dark Knight being snubbed for Best Picture, to people not really responding as highly to Man of Steel, and audiences potentially not responding well to Batman V. Superman?
Man of Steel was the sixth installment of the Superman series, and was a dark, gritty origin story of the most iconic superhero in history. And it made a little over $600 Million worldwide. Which is fine, if not for the fact that we're in a post-Avatar world where if a sequel or reboot doesn't make over $1 Billion worldwide it's considered a disappointment to the studio. Compare that to Guardians of the Galaxy, a film based on an obscure Marvel comic about a team of outlaws (including a raccoon and a tree) protecting the Galaxy from evil, was the first in a series, and had a ton of comedy, and a soundtrack of songs from the 70s. It grossed over $700 Million worldwide and is already getting a sequel.
And we all remember the famous "Hooked On A Feeling" teaser for Guardians of the Galaxy. Before that, did you ever see a trailer for a super hero movie play an old song from the 60s or 70s? Now it seems like every trailer is trying to be like Guardians with Suicide Squad's second trailer playing "Bohemiam Rasphody" as opposed to its darker, more serious first trailer.
But how could Man of Steel not strike a chord with audiences like The Dark Knight, despite having the same tone? Even Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, despite all its hype, has some people more cautious than excited. Almost everyone in my social circle is not that excited for it. Every time I ask someone at my college their thoughts on Batman V. Superman, they almost all have the same reaction:
And when I ask them about Deadpool or Captain America: Civil War, their faces light up with excitement. And Deadpool is considerably more upbeat and fun than Batman V. Superman.
And maybe there are more people like my friends out there than it seems. And Warner Bros. is probably becoming aware of that. They're becoming aware that maybe audiences just aren't as eager for dark super hero movies like they were in the late 2000s.
And maybe that's why Batman V. Superman is not getting the reaction Warner Bros. wanted from early screenings. At first, it seemed like a great idea to have DC movies be dark and gritty as a counter act to Marvel's light hearted tone. But maybe audiences are just tired of seeing super hero movies trying to be dark and realistic.
Or are they just tired of movies trying to be like The Dark Knight?
As I mentioned earlier, the main reason Deadpool is such a success is because it's unique. We've seen self aware comic book movies before. We've even seen movies where they break the fourth wall. We've just never seen them done like Deadpool before. And even before Batman Begins, we had seen dark, gritty super hero movies like Tim Burton's Batman. We've just never seen them done the way Christopher Nolan did it with his Dark Knight trilogy.
And maybe the reason Man of Steel wasn't the box office juggernaut Warner Bros. was hoping for wasn't because it was dark. But perhaps becuse they had seen that already with Batman Begins.
Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier had a serious tone just like The Dark Knight. And just like The Dark Knight, it could be seen as more of a political drama than a comic book movie, asking big questions and delving deep into the morality of a hero. But it still had room for humerus moments like the banter between Captain America and Black Widow, and an upbeat ending. With the success of The Winter Soldier, Marvel proved that comic book movies can be serious and ask deep questions, but still manage to be fun and entertaining.
Maybe it's not that audiences are getting tired of dark super hero movies. They are just tired of the same dark super hero movies.
Whenever a movie like The Dark Knight and Deadpool breaks records and strikes a chord with audiences, studios try so hard to copy their success by making copy cats that they miss the real reason why those movies were successful. They took risks, broke the mold, and gave us somethings we had never seen before.
The trick is to not give audiences what they want. But to give them what they never knew they wanted.
But at the end of the day, we won't really know how the audience will respond to Batman V. Superman until it comes out. Maybe Warner Bros. is worried for no reason, and it will be a phenomenal success. Maybe it will be a Fantastic Four like disaster and put the whole DC slate in jeapordy.
But, one things for sure. We are all so fortunate to be in a time where an R-rated Deadpool movie is playing in theaters, and a movie with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman will play in less than a month!
