Do general audiences know what the MCU is?

[Kahran Ramsus]

This has come up in the X-Men folder, and I've seen similar sentiments spread throughout other forums, so I'm interested in hearing what the general opinion is among other hypesters.

Basically the question is, does the general moviegoing audience know the difference between all of the different superhero film universes? Do they know that the Avengers, X-Men, and Justice League are different franchises from different studios? Does a film being in the MCU help the box office for that film or does it have no effect whatsoever?

Thanks.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

My opinion is that absolutely they do and I think the box office reflects that. Look at films like GOTG, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange. Those were successful films built on the idea that they were a part of the MCU. Doctor Strange wasn't Doctor Strange 1, it was Marvel Studios Movie 14.

GOTG1 had a better opening weekend than Justice League. I can't see that being true if audiences thought JL was in the MCU. Ant-Man outgrossed X-Men Apocalypse domestically. Spider-Man Homecoming had a big jump immediately following the unpopular ASM2 And I suspect we will see it again with Black Panther this winter.

On the flip side, where was the MCU boost for something like Fant4stic?

While I have no doubt that there are many people that don't know the difference, the vast majority of those aren't going to these movies at all so don't really factor in. Enough know the difference that being simply attached to the MCU can make a significant difference to the box office fortunes of a CBM. At least everything that I've seen indicates that to be true.

 

[Web-Head]

Yes. They may not know about the whole "MCU" thing in a way, but they know whether or not it's an "Avengers" film now.

They know the X-Men and Deadpool aren't connected and the new intro surely helps.

 

[Patchwork Man]

Nope, they don't. Most of the GA thinks Marvel movies are simply made by different studios.

What people think: "X-Men movies," "Avengers movies," "Spider-Man movies."

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Nope, they don't. Most of the GA thinks Marvel movies are simply made by different studios.

What people think: "X-Men movies," "Avengers movies," "Spider-Man movies."

That's basically the same thing though. You are still saying they know the difference between "Avengers movies" (aka the MCU) and non-"Avengers movies," even if they don't know the name Marvel Cinematic Universe or all of the details.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Major Crimes Unit...

 

[AlluAllu]

Here I've explained the deal with the studios and the continuities many, many times. I quite enjoy it actually. Deadpool seems to be the one that people mistake the most.

 

[That9neGuy]

I don't think the true GA has a clue, but fans of specific franchises even if they aren't comic fans can tell the difference, especially the Marvel Studios movies.

 

[Zarex]

I believe Guardians was the first MCU film not to have a "Stark" or "Avengers" name drop in the trailers, so some folks may not realise that they are part of the Avengers-verse before the last trailer. But I think most people who have seen more than a couple of films understand what the MCU is, if not what it is commonly called.

 

[Fincher]

Going way back to when the Iron Man trailer was out (at least) but I hadn't rented the movie yet...I didn't read the comics or watch the cartoons, but I learned about Marvel's plans to create a shared universe on a video game forum. I was concerned at the time that the X-Men would be brought into it, but as things progressed I was never confused as to which movies actually were in the universe. And there's been years since for people to learn the difference.

So I would say that the circle of knowledge about this stuff would extend beyond comic book fans or superhero buffs to "geek" culture in general as well as people who take their movie watching seriously. Now people who treat movies as a casual diversion or just go because they have kids likely wouldn't know because they wouldn't care to know.

 

[writer0327]

Yes. They may not know about the whole "MCU" thing in a way, but they know whether or not it's an "Avengers" film now.

They know the X-Men and Deadpool aren't connected and the new intro surely helps.

Exactly. I have plenty of friends who follow the "Avengers Films", as they call them. I tell them it's called the MCU, but that mostly gets ignored.

 

[DACrowe]

I think they know the difference between Marvel and DC, generally. Marvel and X-Men is more muddled. If I had to guess there is a clear division. You have to keep in mind it is now a running joke in the mainstream about "how many Marvel movies do I need to have seen to understand what is going on?" And, "How is this connected to the others?"

So for those who only care about them when they're on the screen before their eyes at that exact moment? Yes, I don't think they put much stock in the difference between Marvel and X-Men Marvel. But the more they care about the story, until you reach us (ahem, the nerds) the more they understand the difference. And clearly there is a healthy section of the population that knows that difference, because I think you can see it between the box office opening of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming. Yes, reviews played a factor, but I think Holland's being in the MCU was a big reason it stopped the downward momentum of TASM and opened to about $25 million more than TASM2 did.

So, short answer: enough that it means a difference in $$$. Longer answer: All that, but not as much as fans would like to think, however.

 

[Patchwork Man]

That's basically the same thing though. You are still saying they know the difference between "Avengers movies" (aka the MCU) and non-"Avengers movies," even if they don't know the name Marvel Cinematic Universe or all of the details.

Are you saying they identify certain movies as the "MCU"? They don't. I thought that's what you were asking with this poll.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Are you saying they identify certain movies as the "MCU"? They don't. I thought that's what you were asking with this poll.

What I'm asking is if they identify and recognize that certain films (ex. Avengers, GotG) are a part of the same franchise made by one studio and others (ex. X-Men, Justice League) are not. Because the claim I often see made is that they can't tell the difference and think that certain films like The Amazing Spider-Man or X-Men Apocalypse or Man of Steel are made by the same studio and are in the same cinematic universe as The Avengers.

I apologize if that wasn't clear. I also said it before, but I will clarify that I don't mean everyone in the general audience. I mean enough that it makes a significant difference at the box office.

 

[writer0327]

What I'm asking is if they identify and recognize that certain films (ex. Avengers, GotG) are a part of the same franchise made by one studio and others (ex. X-Men, Justice League) are not. Because the claim I often see made is that they can't tell the difference and think that certain films like The Amazing Spider-Man or X-Men Apocalypse or Man of Steel are made by the same studio and are in the same cinematic universe as The Avengers.

I apologize if that wasn't clear. I also said it before, but I will clarify that I don't mean everyone in the general audience. I mean enough that it makes a significant difference at the box office.

Yes I think most people know these are difference series. They might not know the correct terminology, but they know they don't belong to the same series of films. I think early on there was some confusion, but with the "Marvel Studios" logo change, that's pretty much gone now.

 

[Mandon Knight]

There must be a level of differentiation of awareness from the GA for the MCU to be so successful, and they are aware of the separation of characters now and the perceived quality.

In the same moment, they wouldn't be able to differentiate or separate between what are Avengers / X Men / Justice League members beyond the 'bigger names'.

 

[Mjölnir]

The GA probably doesn't know the name "MCU" but in my experiences they seem to know what films belongs to it. That would make the answer "yes" as the name is of lesser importance.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I think their knowledge or interest doesn't go beyond Marvel (funny films, Hulk, Thor, Captain, Deadpool) vs. DC (dark films, Batman, Superman, Snyder). Oh, and there's also Spider-Man and X-Men.

 

[Lilbaz]

This has come up in the X-Men folder, and I've seen similar sentiments spread throughout other forums, so I'm interested in hearing what the general opinion is among other hypesters.

Basically the question is, does the general moviegoing audience know the difference between all of the different superhero film universes? Do they know that the Avengers, X-Men, and Justice League are different franchises from different studios? Does a film being in the MCU help the box office for that film or does it have no effect whatsoever?

Thanks.

The ones who go to watch the films will most likely know or be with someone who does (child/partner/friend). The ones who don't go to watch them wont care.
There may be some that just go in blind not really knowing about superhero films but i think they'd be the minority.
Remember though that even with their popularity there are more people that don't go to watch the films in the theater than do. A lot more.

 

[psylockolussus]

I'm sure they do in a way.

 

[The Joker]

Definitely. It's practically as infamous as Pixar now. People know the brand and it puts bums in seats just for the name alone.

 

[DACrowe]

Definitely. It's practically as infamous as Pixar now. People know the brand and it puts bums in seats just for the name alone.

Indeed. I suppose the better question is when they see Marvel (but Marvel Studios) in front of Logan or next year's Venom movie (God help us), will they know the difference? That is where I think there is some confusion, but not as much as there used to be.

 

[UltimatePyro9]

I say yes because of the prevalence of social media and the Internet, anyone can get information on things like movie info, production info, etc.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

I'd say the vast majority of people do, especially when knowing which film is Marvel's and which one is DC's. The only hangup for some are the X-Men films, but that's fairly limited now.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Indeed. I suppose the better question is when they see Marvel (but Marvel Studios) in front of Logan or next year's Venom movie (God help us), will they know the difference? That is where I think there is some confusion, but not as much as there used to be.

I definitely can see there being confusion over Venom (and the other Spidey spin-off films) because of Spider-Man's presence in the MCU. But that's a special circumstance.