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Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub-genre of the action film genre and has evolved into one of the most financially successful film genres worldwide. These films focus on superhuman abilities, advanced technology, mystical phenomena, or exceptional physical and mental skills that enable these Hero to fight for the common good or defeat a supervillain antagonist.
Superhero films typically include genre elements of Romance film, Comedy film, Fantasy film, and science fiction, with large instances of the superhero genre predominantly occupied and produced by American media franchises DC and Marvel, originally adaptations of their existing works of superhero comic books. Individual superhero films frequently contain a character's origin story.
Between 1941 and 1942, Fleischer Studios produced a series of eight Animated cartoon and one additional short based on the Superman comic book.Telotte, J. P. (2010). Man and Superman: The Fleischer Studio negotiates the real. Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 27(4), 290-298. Famous Studios, the successor of Fleischer Studios, created eight more cartoons between 1942 and 1943.
In the following decades, the decline of Saturday matinée showings of serials and turmoil in the comic book industry slowed superhero motion picture production greatly, although films were still being produced. These films included Superman and the Mole Men (1951), starring George Reeves, and Batman (1966), a big-screen extension of the Batman television series starring Adam West. Superman and the Mole Men was a Television pilot for the TV series Adventures of Superman. Compilations of the series were later released theatrically.Dixon, W. W., & Graham, R. (2017). A brief history of comic book movies. Springer.Perlmutter, D. (2018). The encyclopedia of American animated television shows. Rowman & Littlefield.McCray, M. (2015). The Best Saturdays of our Lives. iUniverse.
1966 saw the debut of the Ultra Series with the kaiju TV show Ultra Q. With the release of the original Ultraman, the franchise started focusing on superheroes and the series averaged an audience rating of 36.8% through its first 39 episodes. In 1967, Ultraman started expanding to films. Early films, such as , were compilations or theatrical releases of TV show episodes. The first original Ultraman film was The 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army, a co-production with Thailand.
The popularity of television superheroes in Japan led to the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori in 1971 and 1975, respectively. As with Ultraman, many early Kamen Rider and Super Sentai episodes were released as films. Original Kamen Rider films released before 1978 include Kamen Rider vs. Shocker, Kamen Rider vs. Ambassador Hell, Kamen Rider V3 vs. Destron Mutants, and Five Riders vs. King Dark.
Original superhero characters emerged in other, more Comedy film, such as the French cinema political satire film Mr. Freedom (1969), the Polish Parody film Hydrozagadka (1970), and the American B movies Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966) and The Wild World of Batwoman (1966).
One of the first superhero films of the 1990s was Marvel Comics's Captain America (1991), which did not have a theatrical release. Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four (1994) was ashcan copy and was not released theatrically or on home video.Lichtenfeld, 2007, pg. 287
Alex Proyas' The Crow (1994) became the first independent comic superhero franchise film. The film introduced a new level of violence to a younger audience, bridging the gap between superhero and modern action film.Lichtenfeld, 2007, pg. 289 The success of The Crow may have influenced the release of a film version of Spawn (1997), Image Comics's leading character. After Marvel bought Malibu Comics (which owned The Men in Black comic series), Marvel and Columbia Pictures released Men in Black in 1997. This film was the first Marvel property to win an Academy Award and, at the time, was the highest-grossing comic book adaptation. While commercially successful, Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (1997) was critically panned for its campiness and deviation from the darker style of the series' first two films directed by Tim Burton. Some have cited it as a factor in the temporary decline of the superhero film sub-genre.
In Japan in the 1990s, original Ultraman films became more common. In 1996, Tsuburaya released Ultraman Zearth, which parodied the original TV series and later installments.超全集1 1996, pp. 48–53, 「THE ART OF ウルトラマンゼアス」 The following year, the sequel titled Ultraman Zearth 2: Superhuman Big Battle - Light and Shadow premiered.
Adam Sternberg of Vulture stated that The Matrix (1999) was influenced by comic books, cyberpunk fiction, Japanese anime, and Hong Kong action films. He also credits the film and its incorporation of Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) with reinventing the superhero film by setting the template for modern superhero blockbusters. According to Sternberg, this inspired the superhero renaissance in the early 21st century. John Kenneth Muir, in The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television, describes The Matrix as a re-imagination of movie visuals, paving the way for the visuals of later superhero films. He credits it with helping to "make comic-book superheroes hip." He notes that the bullet time effect successfully demonstrates the concept of "faster than a speeding bullet" onscreen.
In Japan, following the success of the Kamen Rider Kuuga television series, a new era of the Kamen Rider franchise began, leading to the production of annual Kamen Rider movies, starting with in 2001.
The popularity of the Ultraman Tiga TV series led to several films based on it and later installments, including (1998), (1999), and (2000).
While (2012) had little audience interest, three superhero films made it to the top ten in the box office chart for the year, both in the US and internationally. These were The Avengers (May 2012), The Dark Knight Rises (July 2012), and The Amazing Spider-Man (July 2012).
A Superman Returns sequel was planned for 2009 but was delayed and later scrapped in favor of Man of Steel (2013), a reboot of the Superman franchise.
At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel confirmed an Ant-Man movie was in development, as well as a film based on the 2008 comic book series Guardians of the Galaxy, which was released in August 2014. Iron Man 3 was released in May 2013, in November 2013, and in April 2014. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the sequel to the 2012 reboot, was released in May 2014. A sequel to the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, titled The Wolverine was released in 2013. In 2014, was released.
In 2014, Italian filmmaker Gabriele Salvatores directed a superhero-fantasy film titled Il Ragazzo Invisible ( The Invisible Boy), which won the Young Audience Award at the 2015 European Film Awards.
On March 9, 2015, publishing house Valiant Comics made a nine-figure deal with Chinese company DMG Entertainment to produce their series of superhero movies set in their cinematic universe. The series was co-produced by Sony Pictures and started with a movie adaptation of Bloodshot for a 2020 release, followed by Harbinger, both movies receiving a sequel and ending in a crossover movie based on the Harbinger Wars arc from the comic books.
In 2015, Italian filmmaker Gabriele Mainetti directed the superhero film They Call Me Jeeg starring Claudio Santamaria. Its original title is Lo Chiamavano Jeeg Robot, from the Italian name of the anime and manga series Steel Jeeg. It was released in Italy on February 25, 2016.
The eighth installment in the X-Men series, Deadpool, was released in February 2016. It became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time (when adjusted for inflation) and the highest-grossing film of the series. The ninth instalment, , was released in May. Warner Bros. released , the first film to feature both Batman and Superman, in March 2016. Suicide Squad, released in August, featured a team of antihero/supervillains. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad are in the DCEU.
In May 2016, Marvel Studios released , where the Avengers split into opposing factions. In October, Max Steel, based on Mattel's eponymous toy line, was released. In November of the same year, Marvel Studios released Doctor Strange, which recounts the superhero origin of Doctor Strange.
The first Finnish superhero film, , was released in September 2017, and it won the Best Action Movie award at the Erratum Film Festival in Mexico. Power Rangers, a movie reboot of the TV series, was released in March, with Lionsgate planning a seven-film franchise. The film Logan, which was Hugh Jackman's and Patrick Stewart's last appearances as their characters in the X-Men film series before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, was the first ever canon X-Men movie to be rated R and the first superhero movie to receive an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In the summer movie season, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Wonder Woman, and confirmed the superhero film domination in the mainstream movie market. That trend continued into the fall with the success of . Due to this, Warner Bros. attempted to have a shared universe media franchise, the DCEU, with Justice League, though this was poorly received and Box-office bomb.
In February 2018, Marvel Studios released Black Panther, featuring the solo film adaptation of the first mainstream African American superhero, the Black Panther, a commercial and critical success in the MCU franchise. It became the first superhero film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
This MCU project was soon followed up by , released in April 2018, which earned both critical acclaim and worldwide financial success, earning more than $2 billion. Soon after, 20th Century Fox released Deadpool 2 in May 2018. In addition, Incredibles 2
The antihero film Venom, based on the comic book character of the same name, was released in October 2018 to poor reviews but Box office success. In December 2018, Warner Bros. released Aquaman, a film about the DC Comics superhero of the Aquaman, marking a box office success for the DCEU, grossing $1,152 billion worldwide.
By contrast, the X-Men film Dark Phoenix performed poorly — critically and financially — upon release in June. This would be the last film in 20th Century Fox's X-Men series. Afterwards, X-Men and the Fantastic Four entered the MCU with Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox. However, neither franchise would receive a standalone film in the MCU until 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine. The first Fantastic Four standalone film, , is planned for release in 2025. In July 2019, Phase 3 of the MCU was concluded with the Marvel and Sony co-produced film , which was released to critical and commercial success.
In August 2019, Joko Anwar's Gundala was released in Indonesia. It screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. It also took the first entry in the Bum Langit Cinematic Universe (BCU) film series based on characters from comic books published by Bumilangit. The second and third films in the series, Sri Asih and Patriot Taruna: Virgo and the Sparkling's, were announced for a 2020 release but were pushed back to 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic significantly delayed production. The production company's strategy of announcing films in volumes with a team-up film as the climax has led to the media dubbing it the "Indonesian equivalent to the MCU and DCEU".
The Suicide Squad was released in August but was Box-office bomb despite receiving positive reviews. The poor performance was attributed to the disruption of cinema during the COVID-19 pandemic (particularly the Delta variant) and confusion from the general audience on whether the film was a sequel, reboot, or remake. Meanwhile, Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings broke Labor Day records, while similar successes were seen in Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film . Despite mediocre reviews and the first rotten rating for an MCU film on Rotten Tomatoes, Eternals opened to moderate success at the box office.
was released in December 2021, and became the highest-grossing film of 2021, the highest-grossing film of all time, the third-highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada, the highest-grossing Spider-Man film, and the highest-grossing film produced by Sony. It also became the first film to gross over $1 billion since , mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the highest-grossing film not to be released in China (one of the world's biggest box office markets).
In 2022, Warner Bros. released The Batman, a reboot of the Batman film series, unconnected to the DC Extended Universe. It was a critical and commercial hit, with praise for the film being a grounded detective story, due to Matt Reeves' direction and Robert Pattinson's performance as the titular hero. It became the second biggest pandemic debut, after . Morbius, starring Jared Leto and based on the Morbius, debuted that April as another chapter in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. The film was critically panned and a box-office bomb. Variety reported that whilst the initial opening was hopeful for Morbius, "the character is not nearly as recognizable to general audiences as Spider-Man, Batman or Venom, nor is the film connected to a larger story like Eternals or Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Thus, Morbius wasn't expected to match the receipts for recent comic book tent-poles based on those characters." Scott Mendelson further stated Sony seemed to rely on the film's connection to the Spider-Man universe, the success of Venom, and a misguided assumption that audiences were interested in villain movies.
In May 2022, Sam Raimi returned to the superhero genre with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film was met with mixed-to-positive reviews and earned $187million on its opening weekend. It became the eleventh-best domestic debut of all time, the best summer debut for a Disney release during the pandemic, and Raimi's best opening. The film earned $61 million in its second weekend, becoming one of the MCU's most significant second-weekend box office drops. The 67% decline was attributed by Deadline Hollywood to the "bad word of mouth" on the film and its CinemaScore grade. At the same time, Intelligence saw more than a 17% downsize of available seats for the film, resulting in fewer showtimes, which also led to the decline. In its third weekend, the film earned $31.6million, contributing to the 800-million-dollar mark at the box office to become Hollywood's second-highest-grossing film released during the pandemic behind No Way Home. The film earned $16.4million in its fourth weekend, contributing to the total box office that helped it to become the highest-grossing film of 2022, previously held by The Batman. As of June 2022, the film stands as the 11th highest-grossing of the MCU worldwide.
In 2023, a majority of the superhero films released, such as , Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, The Marvels, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, were moderate commercial failures. Only two superhero films released that year, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and , performed well at the box office, grossing $845 million and $690 million respectively, turning a profit alongside positive reviews from audiences and critics.
In February 2024, Sony released its fourth film in the Spider-Man Universe, Madame Web. The film was panned by critics and underperformed at the box office. In July, the MCU's first film of the year, Deadpool & Wolverine, was also its first R-rated film. It was Hugh Jackman's first X-Men film since 2017's Logan and Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool's MCU debut. The film was highly acclaimed and grossed over $1.33 billion worldwide, making it the 20th highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, and the second-highest-grossing film of 2024. Warner Bros.' , a sequel to the 2019 film, Joker, was released in October 2024. Joaquin Phoenix reprised his role as The Joker and Lady Gaga made her superhero film debut as Harley Quinn. Joker: Folie a Deux was followed by Sony Spider-Man Universe films in November 2024, and Kraven the Hunter in December 2024. In February 2025, was released to moderately poor reviews by critics, and to date has the fourth-lowest box office earnings of any MCU movie.
Since 2022, superhero films (especially from the MCU) have seen more inconsistent performances. The Marvels (2023) had the worst box-office outcome for an MCU film since 2008's The Incredible Hulk amid a broader trend of box-office disappointments for superhero films. Fans, critics, and actors alike have pointed to cultural fatigue and the exhaustion of well-used storylines to explain this sudden dip in earnings and popularity. On the other hand, director Joe Russo has suggested a "generational divide" in media consumption driving declining box office performances.
In 1968, VIP my Brother Superman, a parody of the superhero genre,Roberto Chiavini, Gian Filippo Pizzo, Michele Tetro, Il grande cinema di fantascienza: da "2001" al 2001. Gremese Editore, 2001, p.159 directed by Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto, was a financial success. , which was released theatrically in 1993, was a critical success, though a box-office failure. In 2004, Pixar released The Incredibles, a film about a retired superhero couple and their children. It did well critically and financially, and went on to win an Academy Award. In 2010, DreamWorks Animation released Megamind to middling success. In 2014, Walt Disney Animation Studios released an adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero team Big Hero 6. The same year, Warner Bros. released The Lego Movie, with Batman and other DC Comics superheroes in leading and supporting roles. As a significant box-office success, it was followed in 2017 by The Lego Batman Movie and DreamWorks Animation's .
In 2018, three theatrical animated superhero films were released to critical and commercial success: Pixar's Incredibles 2, Warner Bros.' Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, and Sony Pictures Animation's . Into the Spider-Verse swept that year's major film awards for animated features, including the Academy Award. A sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse came out in 2023, titled . Another Spider-Verse sequel, , is currently in production with no set release date.
Criticism of Marvel Studios' films continued, with Jennifer Aniston stating that Marvel movies are "diminishing". Denis Villeneuve dismissed "too many Marvel films" as being "a cut and paste of others," and Roland Emmerich stated large blockbuster films such as the MCU and Star Wars movies were "ruining our industry a little" since "nobody does anything original anymore".
Some media commentators have attributed the increasingly popular superhero franchises in the new millennium to the social and political climate in Western society since the September 11 attacks. Others have argued advances in special effects technology have played a more significant role.
Grant Morrison, writer and co-creator of the All-Star Superman comic series, wonders whether the superhero genre can legitimately be classified as a film genre. He reflects that the idea of a superhuman is malleable and has been used in many other genres, like westerns and detective stories. He goes on to explain:
I’m not even sure if there is a superhero genre or if the idea of the superhero is a special chilli pepper-like ingredient designed to energize other genres. The costumed superhero has survived since 1938, constantly shifting in tone from decade to decade to reflect the fears and the needs of the audience. The current mainstream popularity of the superhero has, I think, a lot to do with the fact that the Terror-stricken, environmentally-handicapped, overpopulated, pedophile-haunted world that’s being peddled by our news media is crying out for utopian role models and for any hopeful images of humankind’s future potential!
Writer Alan Moore, a veteran of the comics industry known for his work on Watchmen, V for Vendetta, , and From Hell, has expressed criticism of modern superhero movies in general, which he once called a "blight" to cinema and "also to culture to a degree." He said in an October 2022 interview with The Guardian that the popularization of the genre on the part of adults is an "infantilization" that can act as "a precursor to fascism." Lamenting at how deeply such films became part of the culture, Moore commented:
"I will always love and adore the comics medium, but the comics industry and all of the stuff attached to it just became unbearable...Hundreds of thousands of adults are lining up to see characters and situations that had been created to entertain the 12-year-old boys — and it was always boys — of 50 years ago. I didn't think that superheroes were adult fare. I think that this was a misunderstanding born of what happened in the 1980s — to which I must put my hand up to a considerable share of the blame, though it was not intentional — when things like Watchmen were first appearing. There were an awful lot of headlines saying, 'Comics Have Grown Up'. I tend to think that, no, comics hadn't grown up. There were a few titles that were more adult than people were used to. But the majority of comics titles were pretty much the same as they'd ever been. It wasn't comics growing up. I think it was more comics meeting the emotional age of the audience coming the other way."In a September 2023 interview with The Telegraph, Moore reiterated this view, saying what had appealed to him most about output from comics publishers was "no more," saying, "now they're called 'graphic novels,' which sounds sophisticated, and you can charge a lot more for them. These innocent and inventive and imaginative superhero characters from the '40s, '50s, and '60s are being recycled to a modern audience as if they were adult fare." During that same interview, journalist Jake Kerridge asked Moore if he divided the money he had received from onscreen adaptations of his work among the writers and other staff members of those productions. Moore replied, "I no longer wish it to even be shared with them. I don't feel, with the recent films, that they have stood by what I assumed were their original principles. So, I asked for DC Comics to send all of the money from any future TV series or films to Black Lives Matter."
At the end of the 2010s and later on in the 2020s, Moore's opinions became more widespread, often pointing out a tendency for superheroes to maintain the status quo. In "Infinity Wars: Post 9/11 Superhero Films and American Empire" Peter J. Bruno argues that "... post-9/11 superhero films cannot imagine alternatives outside of empire and its capitalist hegemony." He goes forward, tying superhero movies to an "aesthetic of death" and the process of the dehumanization of the enemy or othering — both typical of fascism according to Umberto Eco's Ur-Fascism — and ties in Achille Mbembe’s concept of necropolitics. Similar fascistic tendencies were noted by other commentators, notably with the spread of the term "Copaganda."
By the 2020s, "superhero fatigue" emerged to describe audience weariness with formulaic superhero films, reflected in declining box-office returns and mixed reviews. In particular, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been criticized for over-saturating the market with its expansion to streaming beginning with , prompting Marvel Studios to rethink its annual output.
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