Are Superhero Films Ruining Cinema?

[ernesth100]

I hate to say this and I love Supehero films as much as the next guy. But there are somany coming out snd taking places where actual original films could be and then branching out into televison and taking that over and internet series. It seems a bit exccessive you know. Like the film Genre has suddenly just undergone an era of 3 things. Remakes, Sequels, and Superhero films.

 

[HaplessHenchman]

To answer your question:

No.

 

[-Arya-]

Superhero films are just as responsible for "ruining cinema" as sci-fi films, action thrillers, dramas, and all other genres are. So in other words, not at all.

 

[kedrell]

Yeah, I'd have to say no. The reason superhero IP's are ruling right now is largely due to their flexibility and versatility. It's the law of the jungle, adapt or die. Superheroes adapt like they were born for it and that gives them the edge.

 

[Victarion]

Nope, just the Marvel Inquisition.

 

[Mjölnir]

It's a genre like any other. No one is saying that dramas ruin cinema. Or comedies, Cop movies, war movies, etc.

Superhero movies is not the genre that has the most movies coming out per year. Not even remotely close.

 

[kedrell]

^But it is the genre that consistently makes the highest bank, and therein lies the real problem some people have. If they just tooled around like other genres with modest profits and losses and such then I doubt you'd hear any of this bellyaching. But the fact that DOM alone 4 superhero movies in 2014 accounted for over $1 billion of the box office(and $3 billion WW) which is around 10% of the yearly total(the other 90% being split among HUNDREDS of movies) then you can see where the grumbling begins. Couple that with the fact that they are all based on 1 company's stable of characters and you further distill the box office into Marvel...and then everybody else. Of course that's bound to ruffle some feathers.

 

[metaphysician]

^But it is the genre that consistently makes the highest bank, and therein lies the real problem some people have. If they just tooled around like other genres with modest profits and losses and such then I doubt you'd hear any of this bellyaching. But the fact that DOM alone 4 superhero movies in 2014 accounted for over $1 billion of the box office(and $3 billion WW) which is around 10% of the yearly total then you can see where the grumbling begins. Couple that with the fact that they are all based on 1 company's stable of characters and you further distill the box office into Marvel...and then everybody else. Of course that's bound to ruffle some feathers.

To which my response is: too bad. You ( meaning the various other movie producers/studios ) aren't *owed* anything. If you want to make more money, make better movies.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

I hate to say this and I love Supehero films as much as the next guy. But there are somany coming out snd taking places where actual original films could be and then branching out into televison and taking that over and internet series. It seems a bit exccessive you know. Like the film Genre has suddenly just undergone an era of 3 things. Remakes, Sequels, and Superhero films.

I kinda get where your coming from. There's so many coming, they're being announced far too in advance and the news is everwhere so with all that it can get overwhelming.

I'm just sticking to ones that interest me and leaving the rest as I don't want it to become a chore to keep upwith

I doubt any run of movies can ruin Hollywood but I don't like this universe chasing all studios are doing. Instead of focusing on making good movies they want to build a universe with loads of interconnected movies all coming off an assembly line

Star Wars EpVII isn't even out yet and there's loads of spin-offs being announced and Ghostbusters Female and Ghostbusters Male announced with a fricken Sub-studio for just that one franchise.

Edit: Saw This over at WhatCulture and it seems to fit the topic.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Yippeee, another thread asking about this.
Sarcastic face, see?


No, comic book superhero movies are not killing cinema.
6 movies a year will not kill cinema.
6 TV shows will not overshadow every other genre on TV currently running and has been running for years.
6 Netflix shows will not kill every other Netflix show.

[blackout]And I'm sure the 666 is just a coincidence.
Bye now.[/blackout]

 

[Snow Queen]

Yippeee, another thread asking about this.
Sarcastic face, see?


No, comic book superhero movies are not killing cinema.
6 movies a year will not kill cinema.
6 TV shows will not overshadow every other genre on TV currently running and has been running for years.
6 Netflix shows will not kill every other Netflix show.

[blackout]And I'm sure the 666 is just a coincidence.
Bye now.[/blackout]

[YT]8_mePjkQW_c[/YT]

 

[The Sage]

Heck no. If anything, they're helping cinema and keeping money in it so the original and artsy films can get made.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

People have been complaining that a particular genre or another is about to bring down the industry practically as long as film has existed. It isn't any more true now than it was then.

 

[kedrell]

If we really listened closely I'm sure we could still find some Broadway types who still bemoan all Hollywood movies as being the downfall of the dramatic arts and an upstart even to this day. Anything new will always find resistance when it first is tried. Human beings don't like change, typically.

 

[The Joker]

In a word; No!

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

If we really listened closely I'm sure we could still find some Broadway types who still bemoan all Hollywood movies as being the downfall of the dramatic arts and an upstart even to this day. Anything new will always find resistance when it first is tried. Human beings don't like change, typically.

Heck, there were lots of people in the Ancient World (Socrates being among them) that complained about how writing was killing rational thought. I'm sure if we actually had writing way back then, we'd have stories about Ugg complaining about how knowledge of fire was going to bring down society.

The current CBM situation is something I only dreamed about 30 years ago. This is bliss as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Mjölnir]

^But it is the genre that consistently makes the highest bank, and therein lies the real problem some people have. If they just tooled around like other genres with modest profits and losses and such then I doubt you'd hear any of this bellyaching. But the fact that DOM alone 4 superhero movies in 2014 accounted for over $1 billion of the box office(and $3 billion WW) which is around 10% of the yearly total(the other 90% being split among HUNDREDS of movies) then you can see where the grumbling begins. Couple that with the fact that they are all based on 1 company's stable of characters and you further distill the box office into Marvel...and then everybody else. Of course that's bound to ruffle some feathers.

Well, dramas tend to hog the major awards (and i wouldn't say that less effort goes into making movies of other genres) so that a different variant of the same thing. I of course know why people are reacting to there being superhero movies but my point is to put it in proper perspective.

 

[TheFirstAvenger]

I did a little digging (not very much but still) and it looks like it was 20+ romantic comedies released last year. Compared to the 5 superhero films... Take a minute and let that sink in.

 

[smallville fan]

50 Shades of Grey is ruining cinema not superheroes.

 

[PacificBoy]

I think you'd have more of a discussion if you narrow it down and argue in the context of blockbuster cinema. I'm no movie buff and I'm not part of the industry, and I don't have any numbers to back me up, but it seems to me cinema is thriving more than ever. Today's technology makes it easier to make movies (making a living out of making movies, however, is something else entirely) -- a bit of creativity and innovation can go a long way. It's so much easier to discover foreign films too through the net.

Cinema is dead, long live cinema.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

The complaint boils down to Sophomoric Elitism from people that really should simply know better. I still haven't gotten an answer to two important fundamental questions of import to this debate.

"There are too many super hero films being made." Okay... What exactly would be the "appropriate" number? I mean... 2014 had, what... 4-5 CBM adaptations? Why is that some kind of intolerable number exactly?

"The money and resources that go to CBMs would fund so many film maker's passion projects. It's a shame that it's all wasted on formulaic block busters." Why do you assume that if CBMs disappeared tomorrow that suddenly those resources would automatically flow to writer/directors making films with "artistic merit"?

Finally... If those that attend The Independent Spirit Awards are "holding out against the tsunami of super hero films", why is it that today more independent films are being made and seen by audiences than ever before? Yes, there are hurdles for film makers (of all stripes) to get their vision financial backing, but the ways to do that, to get finances, distribution and getting the word out of your film after it is completed are also more numerous than ever before.

 

[kedrell]

I'd be more inclined to say YA adaptions are ruining cinema...except I can simply exercise my prerogative and refuse to watch them, which is what I do.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

[YT]8_mePjkQW_c[/YT]

People have been complaining that a particular genre or another is about to bring down the industry practically as long as film has existed. It isn't any more true now than it was then.

I don't think I will say this exact thing about comic book movies, those existed for decades before 2008 and their high rise boost, particularly the Marvel cinematic series and Nolan's Batman movies.

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

50 Shades of Grey is ruining cinema not superheroes.

(And it's not only cinema 50 ****s of Grey is ruining.)

 

[ARBH]

No. Everyone knows that Nicholas Sparks novels that are turned into movies are what is ruining cinema.