For nearly two decades, superheroes have reigned supreme at the box office at home and abroad while Hollywood stood tall as the epicenter of cinematic artistry and blockbuster glory. Yet, the tides have shifted dramatically.
Superhero fatigue and an oversaturated streaming market have plunged the industry into an existential crisis, forcing studios to grapple with declining box office revenues, shrinking subscriber bases, and mounting financial losses.
Hollywood faces a critical moment of reckoning. The industry is at a crossroads—between reinvention and collapse—as it grapples with changing audience demands and shifting economic realities.
The Rise and Fall of the Superhero Era
Superhero movies once epitomized box office gold, with global grosses averaging over $1 billion as recently as 2018. Marvel and DC built billion-dollar empires, churning out interconnected cinematic universes that delighted audiences and enriched studios before souring dramatically.
In 2020, the cracks in the armor were showing and undeniable by 2022. In the five years ending in 2019, superheroes were virtually guaranteed box office blockbusters, with 83% of titles collecting more than $500 million global in receipts—many soaring far beyond that mark. Post-lockdowns, however, the script flipped. Since 2022, a staggering 60% of superhero films have struggled to hit that same $500 million global benchmark, signaling a dramatic downturn in the genre’s once-unshakable dominance. Films like The Flash and The Marvels fell flat, while Venom: The Last Dance debuted at just $51 million stateside—a 44% drop from its lukewarm predecessors.
Worst still is the latest Joker film that teeters on the brink of a humiliating milestone: with fewer receipts in its entire box office run than the jaw-dropping $250 million its predecessor grossed worldwide during its opening weekend back in the before-times.
What caused the decline? Oversaturation and ever-shortening attention spans played significant roles in this tale. Notwithstanding these disruptions, under Disney’s tutelage, the Marvel universe began its relentless march to release dozens of shows to bolster the rollout of Disney+, which ultimately diluted its cinematic offerings. This dilution coincided with probably the most significant theatrical disruption in history, with three years of nearly empty theaters. Furthermore, this content tsunami left audiences fatigued and ultimately angry by the blatant money-grab and constant message-first approach to storytelling.
Meanwhile, Warner’s DC endured internal turmoil, including leadership changes and a controversial creative reboot. Sony’s Spider-Man spinoffs began to feel like desperate cash grabs from a studio out of ideas. However, for most exhibitors, there is still a lot of reverence for Marvel and superhero fare since they’re still the biggest game in town.
Next Year is Make-or-Break for Superhero Franchises
All eyes are now on Marvel’s 2025 slate, featuring Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, and a reboot of The Fantastic Four. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Marvel needs The Fantastic Four to succeed as a standalone film and as the keystone for its following Avengers projects, which seems unlikely. But thinking titles in its upcoming slate will perform on par with Deadpool & Wolverine is overly optimistic.
Similarly, DC is banking on Superman: Legacy to launch its reimagined cinematic universe. The revamped film will need to open north of $100 million domestically to have any chance of righting the ship; any less would spell franchise disaster. True to form, Joker, a DC property that garnered financial and creative success, was produced outside the so-called DC Universe.
For both Marvel and DC, 2025 is not just another year—it’s a fight for survival as shareholders and audiences head for the exits. But even if these 2025 films succeed, will it be enough to revive Hollywood’s superhero obsession, or is the genre’s dominance permanently over? It’s hard to imagine Disney or Warner Bros. walking away from the genre any time soon, even as creativity wanes. Billions more will be piled into another reimaged cinematic universe. Both studios are doubling down on ambitious slates of superhero content that will shape their cinematic futures well into the decade.
Expecting titles in Marvel’s or DC’s upcoming slate to perform on par with Deadpool & Wolverine or the first Joker is wildly unrealistic.
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Streaming Exclusivity Killed the Golden Goose
Streaming has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for studios. While it offers direct-to-consumer revenue, the economics are far from sustainable. Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) division has incurred $11.4 billion in losses since Disney+ launched in 2019. Even Netflix, the poster child of streaming, faces pressure to maintain profitability amidst rising competition and saturation.
In February 2019, Disney revealed it would forgo at least $150 million in operating income by withholding content from Netflix, opting instead to retain exclusivity for Disney+. This decision came at a high cost. While Netflix poured tens of billions annually into content, Disney invested heavily in acquiring Fox and ensuring its vast library remained exclusive to its own streaming platforms, further escalating its spending and reducing revenue.
From Blockbusters to Bust: Why the Film Industry is Fading Fast
The film industry is transforming with declining revenues, reducing film output, and a shift in consumer preferences. Major studios are consolidating and struggling, while television emerges as a dominant medium. Theaters face over-leveraging challenges. Streaming services haven’t compensated for theatrical declines.
Continue Reading […] From Blockbusters to Bust: Why the Film Industry is Fading Fast
As audiences grow weary of juggling multiple subscriptions, piracy is on the rise, with global visits to pirate sites surpassing 140 billion in 2020. Streaming platforms are turning to collaboration to stay competitive. Notably, Disney+, Hulu, and Max forged a partnership in what many call “The Great Rebuilding” of content. The cost of creating exclusive content and dwindling theatrical revenue has left Hollywood’s financial model in disarray.
To mitigate mounting losses, Disney reversed course by removing dozens of titles from Disney+ and licensing them to other competitor platforms to generate revenue. This course correction, however, came at a steep cost. Disney’s filings last last year revealed $2.4 billion in impairments related to content removal from its Direct-to-Consumer services. Obviously, Disney is confident they can make more than $2.5 billion licensing the films and shows elsewhere. Despite this drastic step, it signals that further restructuring is inevitable as the streaming model continues to strain the company’s bottom line.
FilmTake Away: Death of Another Hollywood Golden Age
Beyond financial losses, Hollywood’s creative infrastructure has eroded. Once a haven for artistic risk and collaboration, the industry has become a content conveyor belt. Streaming platforms prioritize global appeal over creative depth, churning out formulaic action, horror, and thriller genres at the expense of mid-budget dramas, adventures, comedies, and genuinely unique voices and visions.
The superhero genre, once its crown jewel, is fading under the weight of oversaturation and audience fatigue, devolving into a rebellion by the fandom.
Yet, in this chaos lies an opportunity. As audiences reject formulaic content and mediocrity, a new wave of creativity can emerge, reshaping the film industry. Whether Hollywood can rise to this challenge is unclear. But one thing is clear: the industry must evolve—or risk being left behind in the attention economy.