Film Are Hollywood making too many superhero films and when will they stop? | Never, apparently

sullydnl

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With the release of trailers for Shazam and Aquaman it's clear that we have many more superhero films on the horizon.

From the Marvel world we can look forward to a Venom film, another Spiderman film, another Avengers film, another Guardians of the Galaxy film, a Captain Marvel film, almost certainly another Doctor Strange Film, almost certainly another Black Panther film and (by my count) approximately six more currently unknown but scheduled releases?

While from the DC world we apparently face (in addition to Aquaman and Shazam) another Wonder Woman film, a Flash film, a Birds of Prey film, two entirely different films about The Joker, another Suicide Squad film, a Batgirl film, a Green Lantern film, a New Gods film, a Blackhawk film, a Joker/Harley Quinn film, a Nightwing film, another Justice League film, a Gotham City Sirens film, another Superman film, a Deathstroke film, a Black Adam film, a Cyborg film and another Batman film.

There might be more, it's hard to keep track.

Are people actually looking forward to this deluge of superhero films? Or is it too much even for fans of the genre? Will this trend continue for the foreseeable future or will people simply lose interest in this type of movie? When will it end?
 
I fecking hate them. But they sell well so it won't stop for a long while I reckon.
 
Yes, and no. Why would they? They make so much money.

The studios aren’t interested in making original films but independent studios make plenty each year. I’m seeing seventeen next month at the Melbourne Film Festival.

I probably see thirty interesting films a year, which is more than I can say for music, or books. The downfall of cinema is overrated.
 
VorZakone said:
I fecking hate them. But they sell well so it won't stop for a long while I reckon.
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Justice League and BvS had underwhelming Box office numbers compared to the huge budgets and a few experts reckon they made a loss
 
They already made way too many supershit movies 3 years ago, and now it's just pathetic. Complete lack of original ideas.
 
You've listed at least 10 years worth of films on both sides, depending on box office numbers for those films, they'll keep making them after that. They make a lot of money for Marvel so they won't stop anytime soon.
 
Loads of those are sequels required to complete ongoing series.

When in the history of cinema have big budget action blockbusters not been rife? This is nothing new.
 
I find it a bit like saying there’s too many burger joints or curry houses. If you don’t enjoy them you don’t have to go. Personally I’ve only watched Deadpool in the cinema, since that’s the only one I find has an interesting mix of humour and action.

I don’t think it’s decreasing the supply of other good films. Good scenarios and scripts will still hit the screen. Superhero movies are just easy revenue for some studios.
 
pascell said:
You've listed at least 10 years worth of films on both sides, depending on box office numbers for those films, they'll keep making them after that. They make a lot of money for Marvel so they won't stop anytime soon.
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I think (though I might be wrong) the Marvel films I've listed only take us to 2022. So we can reasonably expect a lot more than that from them over the next ten years.
 
Archie Leach said:
Yes, and no. Why would they? They make so much money.

The studios aren’t interested in making original films but independent studios make plenty each year. I’m seeing seventeen next month at the Melbourne Film Festival.

I probably see thirty interesting films a year, which is more than I can say for music, or books. The downfall of cinema is overrated.
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Moby said:
Loads of those are sequels required to complete ongoing series.

When in the history of cinema have big budget action blockbusters not been rife? This is nothing new.
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/Thread

On another note, does anyone know a good dedicated but not overly nerdy or cliquey forum for this stuff (sci-fi, comic books, movies, books and TV)? Used to use IMDb bit now it's mainly here, and this type of stuff doesn't tend to go down well on here :lol:
 
Moby said:
Loads of those are sequels required to complete ongoing series.

When in the history of cinema have big budget action blockbusters not been rife? This is nothing new.
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That's not the point though, is it? We're specifically discussing superhero blockbusters.
 
Moby said:
Loads of those are sequels required to complete ongoing series.

When in the history of cinema have big budget action blockbusters not been rife? This is nothing new.
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Sure but has there ever been a point where one particular genre of blockbuster film has dominated to this extent? It wasn't that long ago that superhero films were just one small part of the cinema landscape rather than being synonymous with

MadMike said:
I find it a bit like saying there’s too many burger joints or curry houses. If you don’t enjoy them you don’t have to go. Personally I’ve only watched Deadpool in the cinema, since that’s the only one I find has an interesting mix of humour and action.

I don’t think it’s decreasing the supply of other good films. Good scenarios and scripts will still hit the screen. Superhero movies are just easy revenue for some studios.
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Is the proliferation of these films really not having any negative effect though? I've seen plenty of articles mentioning the oversaturation of this type of film in relation to things like the decrease in the overall number of films being shown in cinema, the decrease in the number of films being made by major Hollywood studios, the shifting of industry reliance towards 3D, IMAX, RPX, 4DX surcharges and the dissapearance of speciality divisions in studios designed to make films for adults.

Maybe they're wrong but the assumption that a shift as dramatic as Hollywood's towards tentpole superhero films would have no knock-on effects seems very unrealistic.

Plus people do regularly complain about there being too many of the same store in city centres, the effect that had on other outlets and the homogenization of high streets. Starbucks possibly being the most common example.
 
These big budget CGI fest help fund those pet projects that you guys pine for. You know, the ones that don't make money...

Both are needed. Like a poster said, if you don't like em, don't watch em. Leave them for those of us that do enjoy them.
 
sullydnl said:
Sure but has there ever been a point where one particular genre of blockbuster film has dominated to this extent? It wasn't that long ago that superhero films were just one small part of the cinema landscape.
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Like I said above, it's always been the same, just the source is comic books now. There's no difference in these movies and the likes of Jurassic Park or Aliens etc. Big budget popcorn entertainment primarily aimed for kids, families and casual viewers with little substance or engaging plotlines. Rush Hour, Mission Impossible, Die Hard, the names are endless and they all belong to the same bucket.
 
Moby said:
They're just an incarnation of that only. Sci Fi/Superhero/Comic call it whatever you want. How is it any different from movies like Terminator etc.
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It's different because noone in Terminator possessed the so called "super powers" . A man made machine is not a super hero in the same way that is portrayed in the comics.
 
Moby said:
Like I said above, it's always been the same, just the source is comic books now. There's no difference in these movies and the likes of Jurassic Park or Aliens etc. Big budget popcorn entertainment primarily aimed for kids, families and casual viewers with little substance or engaging plotlines. Rush Hour, Mission Impossible, Die Hard, the names are endless and they all belong to the same bucket.
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Yet you have reports like the one below suggesting it is something different due to the effect it has had on the industry. I don't think you can divorce an over-reliance on tentpole movies with the overabundance of this particular type of tentpole movie.

https://variety.com/2016/film/news/hollywood-dire-outlook-tentpoles-1201722775/

Plus, as I said above, things like the decrease in the number of films being made by major Hollywood studios, the shifting of industry reliance towards 3D, IMAX, RPX, 4DX surcharges and the dissapearance of speciality divisions in studios designed to make films for adults are likely not unaffected by this trend either.

The fact that there were blockbuster films before doesn't mean you should assume that the place current blockbusters hold in the cinema landscape is exactly the same, especially when there are strong arguments suggesting otherwise.
 
sullydnl said:
With the release of trailers for Shazam and Aquaman it's clear that we have many more superhero films on the horizon.

From the Marvel world we can look forward to a Venom film, another Spiderman film, another Avengers film, another Guardians of the Galaxy film, a Captain Marvel film, almost certainly another Doctor Strange Film, almost certainly another Black Panther film and (by my count) approximately six more currently unknown but scheduled releases?

While from the DC world we apparently face (in addition to Aquaman and Shazam) another Wonder Woman film, a Flash film, a Birds of Prey film, two entirely different films about The Joker, another Suicide Squad film, a Batgirl film, a Green Lantern film, a New Gods film, a Blackhawk film, a Joker/Harley Quinn film, a Nightwing film, another Justice League film, a Gotham City Sirens film, another Superman film, a Deathstroke film, a Black Adam film, a Cyborg film and another Batman film.

There might be more, it's hard to keep track.

Are people actually looking forward to this deluge of superhero films? Or is it too much even for fans of the genre? Will this trend continue for the foreseeable future or will people simply lose interest in this type of movie? When will it end?
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I see no good reason why they should stop. The realm of comic books was dying to be turned into live action and the potential depth and angles of story telling is endless. Rather than stop, they should just imrpove the depth and quality of the stories potrayed....As a fan of that realm Im not complaining
 
Moby said:
Probably came out when you were young and enjoyed it, same as the young people who enjoy these movies. Was just another brainless action sequence overload.
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Terminator 2 and Predator is two of the best action movies of all time. Not comparable to this superhero tripe.
 
pascell said:
7 films in 4 years is too much, how can anyone keep up with the various storylines?!
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That’s 14 hours of pretty basic intertwined storylines over 4 years. Not really taxing human cognition is it?
 
Vitro said:
That’s 14 hours of pretty basic intertwined storylines over 4 years. Not really taxing human cognition is it?
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Plus it's likely you won't have to have seen every single one of those movies to follow the overarching storyline playing out. Also likely there won't be a universe-wide storyline after they're done with Infinity War.
 
Does it really matter? There are plenty of other movies of different genres out there to be seen. Yes, most of the superhero movies (especially from DC) are an awful watch but, in my opinion, most films are so generic and boring so it doesn't really matter if the current market is saturated with this type of film.
 
pascell said:
7 films in 4 years is too much, how can anyone keep up with the various storylines?!
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Probably at around 2 hours each, that adds up to about 14 hours worth of story telling over four years. A TV series would have probably had four series of 10-13 episodes lasting 45 minutes or so, totaling about 30 hours in the same time.

I think people will be perfectly able to follow that number of films, it's the countless TV shows that are getting to be impossible to follow - who has that much time on their hands?
 
Di Maria's angel said:
Does it really matter? There are plenty of other movies of different genres out there to be seen. Yes, most of the superhero movies (especially from DC) are an awful watch but, in my opinion, most films are so generic and boring so it doesn't really matter if the current market is saturated with this type of film.
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But because of these the studios are less likely to make original or daring IPs, they'd rather go with the superhero stuff because it has an existing fanbase. This is worrying for me.
 
They're just lazy. They've figured out rehashing the same old shit with a big budget and marketing the hell out of it gets just as much revenue as putting in all the effort to create something new.

Same thing with the music industry.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
But because of these the studios are less likely to make original or daring IPs, they'd rather go with the superhero stuff because it has an existing fanbase. This is worrying for me.
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I think, eventually, it will balance itself out. We'll see a time, sooner rather than later, where the popularity will decrease as we, the viewers, no longer find these movies as entertaining.
 
Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:
Comic book readers are well trained in that 'martial art'
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Yeah tbh everyone has their own interests and hobbies so I guess people are more clued up on these films/TV shows/comic books than others, my friend goes mad for it all but I just watch the films casually.

Vitro said:
That’s 14 hours of pretty basic intertwined storylines over 4 years. Not really taxing human cognition is it?
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Like people have mentioned, there's TV shows also, quite a lot of different characters too.
decorativeed said:
Probably at around 2 hours each, that adds up to about 14 hours worth of story telling over four years. A TV series would have probably had four series of 10-13 episodes lasting 45 minutes or so, totaling about 30 hours in the same time.

I think people will be perfectly able to follow that number of films, it's the countless TV shows that are getting to be impossible to follow - who has that much time on their hands?
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That's why I just watch the films when I can, i watched season 1 of Luke Cage but haven't watched season 2, I've watched 1 episode of The Punished (I wouldn't mind watching the rest as it seems different to the rest) plus the others.
 
The Firestarter said:
It's different because noone in Terminator possessed the so called "super powers" . A man made machine is not a super hero in the same way that is portrayed in the comics.
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It goes back much further than terminator. Hercules films, Samson,jesus films. All films based on people with super powers. Comics are just the new age version of Greek, Norse mythology and the likes.


@sullydnl there is actually even more than you’ve got there as that Venom franchise is a completely different universe which will open up even more movies. It’s part of Sony so the Sonyverse. Then there is X-men also opening up more storylines and if they bring the fantastic 4 in to it as I beleieve they are planning another reboot of that we are going to have hundreds of this type of movies and I can’t fecking wait.

As long as DC pull their finger out and start to produce good stuff it’ll all be good. Marvel plan a phase 4 after the next avengers as a lot of the contracts for those actors run out so will be intresting to see what they have planned.
 
They annoy me, yeah, I found them to be too much years ago and it got even worse.

Having said that, I don't have to watch them, thankfully. So I don't. It's annoying when you have to watch half a dozen of these trailers every time you go to a cinema but I've learnt to tune it out.

Also, look at the first page of the Entertainment forum here. These things DOMINATE. Clearly people eat them up.
 
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