Fox vs. Sony - who is worse?

[Flint Marko]

FOX vs SONY: The Race to the Bottom!

We all have had to deal with some mediocre to terrible Marvel movies from each respective company, but I want to know who do you think has proven to be a bigger disappointment overall?
Sony's mismanagement and poor decision-making are well documented at this point. Every Spider-man film from them since the second Raimi installment has suffered from an incredible amount of studio interference that has brought the once dependable franchise into a steady decline, showing how out of touch they are with movie-goers. They sincerely thought a hastily put together Sinister Six movie would make them money and be their "Avengers".
In light of recent events some might say they are the obvious choice, but let's keep in mind they have at least been willing to talk to Marvel in an attempt to make a deal. Yes that deal did not happen, but with recent rumors that talks have again started between the two, it's worth noting that they at least understand what they are doing sucks and should not happen.
Fox, on the other hand, has yet to do anything like that. They did all they could with Daredevil to keep those rights from reverting, but thankfully their production fell through (I think their director bolted) and Marvel was able to get the character back home. But, and a lot of people don't know this, when it became clear to them that they weren't going to meet the deadline they apparently approached Marvel and asked for an extension. Marvel agreed, but only if they could use Doom, Galactus, and the Silver Surfer in the MCU - Fox was quick to turn this down in favor of their newest atrocity, the much-maligned FF reboot.
For those not in the know, Trank's upcoming disaster was made solely to keep the rights (picture how awesome a MCU Doom would be, and then realize we won't see that anytime soon thanks to Fox and this movie) and has been rumored to be an incredibly troubled production. Both Faraci and El Mayimbe have tweeted in the past week or so about how they are both hearing awful things about this movie, and radio silence from Fox is completely indicative that things aren't going so smoothly for them. Apparently turning one of the greatest villains in all of comics into a blogger ended up being a poor idea - who would have thought!
So while their X-men properties have been getting back on the right track, I'd say their inability to play ball with Marvel and insistence on keeping the rights to characters they could never hope to faithfully adapt makes them the bigger disappointment in my eyes. Yes I enjoyed First Class and DOFP, but let's be honest; once Singer and Vaughn leave, Fox will be back to their old ways cranking out turd after turd to meet their deadline.
So, what do you think? Who is the worst offender, and why?

 

[Donut]

They both suck equally. They both have just about the same amount of good 2 decent movies & both have plenty of bad MARVEL movies

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

for those not in the know, Trank's upcoming movie was made to keep the rights that the studio paid fair and square for (picture how mediocre a MCU Doom would be since most of their villains are forgettable, and then realize we won't see that anytime soon thanks to Marvel selling the rights away).

Fixed for accuracy

 

[T"Challa]

At least Fox has revitalized the X-Men so they have that going for them, despite all the nonsense surrounding the FF reboot. Sony is just bumbling around and throwing s*** t the wall right now. I have no idea what they are trying to do there

 

[HAMMER]

I see it didn't take long for CWR to come in on his high horse and start praising Fox and bashing Marvel Studio's.

Fox, they're films have very little respect to the source material.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

I see it didn't take long for CWR to come in on his high horse and start praising Fox and bashing Marvel Studio's.

The whole thread is someone on their high horse, started purely to bash the studios behind non-MCU marvel movies.

FYI I didn't praise any studio I just stated facts (regarding rights at least)

Anyway. Merry Christmas boardies

 

[Flint Marko]

At least Fox has revitalized the X-Men so they have that going for them, despite all the nonsense surrounding the FF reboot. Sony is just bumbling around and throwing s*** t the wall right now. I have no idea what they are trying to do there

The ongoing rumor of continued discussions between Sony and marvel have me hopeful that they'll redeem themselves. I'm trying to tamper my expectations and not get my hopes up in case the worst happens so I won't be too disappointed, but it has been fun hearing all the awful ideas proposed by Sony.
An aunt may movie? Them asking Marvel for the rights to the Hypno Hustler? Them insulting Raimi, while also trying to get him back involved in some way? The newest email talks about having a Godzilla sized Tom hardy sandman going through the streets of London and how "awesome" that would be, when it's the exact same thing they did in spider-man 3.

 

[Keehar]

Sony. At least Fox's learning curve is not a flat line.

 

[JEM]

Fox wins the box office this year.
So, it isn't just Singer or Vaugh, they are competent unlike Sony .
But yeah they are devil ...

 

[harryoscop]

Cyclops is right.

 

[Donut]

Here we go again with some users https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3y3QoFnqZc

 

[NealKenneth]

First of all, I'd just like to say that this is an excellent idea for a debate but the OP (Flint Marko) is taking the wrong approach. Why base your opinion on future/cancelled projects and what is going on behind the scenes?

The fact is, we don't know if Fox letting go of the rights to Daredevil was a good or bad decision because we never saw the movie they were planning to make. In the same way, we don't know if refusing to share some FF characters for a rights extension was a bad or good decision because we haven't seen the new Fantastic Four movie yet.

FOX vs SONY: The Race to the Bottom!
They sincerely thought a hastily put together Sinister Six movie would make them money and be their "Avengers".

Again, how can you even use Sinister Six as an example of how "terrible" Sony is if you haven't seen the film yet? For all we know, it will make as much money as The Avengers if they go ahead with the project. After all, a film based on a team of villains is an unusual premise and something we haven't really seen before.

Pressure from executives and budget problems don't necessarily mean that the product is going to fail. There are plenty of examples of films that arguably were improved by the production problems they faced, such as the original Star Wars and The Fellowship of the Ring. There are also plenty of movies that faced few problems during production but were still terrible, like After Earth or just about anything by Adam Sandler.

Let's look at what they have actually given us to judge which studio is better. Here's a list of all the superhero films they've released so far, in order of their release:

X-Men (Fox, 2000)
Spider-Man (Sony, 2002)
Daredevil (Fox, 2003)
X2: X-Men United (Fox, 2003)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Fox, 2003)
Hellboy (Sony, 2004)
Spider-Man 2 (Sony, 2004)
Elektra (Fox, 2005)
Fantastic Four (Fox, 2005)
X-Men: The Last Stand (Fox, 2006)
Ghost Rider (Sony, 2007)
Spider-Man 3 (Sony, 2007)
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Fox, 2007)
Jumper (Fox, 2008)
Hancock (Sony, 2008)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox, 2009)
The Green Hornet (Sony, 2011)
X-Men: First Class (Fox, 2011)
Chronicle (Fox, 2012)
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Sony, 2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony, 2012)
The Wolverine (Fox, 2013)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Sony, 2014)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (Fox, 2014)

The first thing that strikes me about this data is that it's suddenly obvious that Sony has always been playing catch-up. X-Men came out a full two years before Spider-Man, then Fox took chances on less popular characters TWICE (Daredevil and TLOEG) before Sony attempted Hellboy. Even when they both debuted original superheros in the same year (Jumper and Hancock in 2008), Fox's was the first to reach audiences.

Fox then went on to be the first studio to attempt a reboot with X-Men: First Class and have also shown they have a better sense of when they shouldn't make a sequel. We didn't get Daredevil 2 or Elektra 2, but we did get Ghost Rider 2. They also have the only really successful original superhero film so far with Chronicle.

However, having a better sense of when to take risks doesn't make Fox a better studio. The actual quality of the films, in my opinion, was generally better for Sony until recently. Spider-Man was much better than X-Men, Spider-Man 2 was a little better than X2 and, although they were both disappointing, Spider-Man 3 was still a somewhat better than Last Stand. Hellboy was well-received and has a cult following to this day, while Daredevil and Elektra are destined to fade into obscurity.

It wasn't until Sony inexplicably took a five year break from Marvel after Spider-Man 3 only to return in 2012 with the sequel to a nigh-universally hated movie (Ghost Rider), that their reputation for higher quality was at risk. For me, the release of The Amazing Spider-Man soothed all fears. In my opinion, The Amazing Spider-Man is the best Marvel film yet released outside of the MCU, with my only complaints being that The Lizard/Curt Connors was oversimplified and that dangling plot points were unsatisfactorily resolved in the sequel.

Unfortunately for Sony, by this point, Fox had already improved their reputation by way of rebooting X-Men and releasing a successful original superhero (Chronicle.) Even so, until 2014, I would have given Sony the edge in a debate of whether they or Fox were better at making superhero movies.

Unfortunately for everyone (but especially Sony), the superhero films we got from these studios this year were The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Effectively, Sony released their most disappointing film yet while Fox made what might be their best film yet. Even so, I'm not willing to dismiss Sony's past successes due to the results of a single summer, so I decided to vote that they were about the same, but if these studios continue down their current paths, it won't be long until Fox completely outclasses Sony.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

First of all, I'd just like to say that this is an excellent idea for a debate but the OP (Flint Marko) is taking the wrong approach.

The comparison between them is quite interesting and valid. The overwhelmingly negative attitude and connotation in which it was presented isn't.

The question could've easily been 'Which is better?' of the two

 

[Donut]

The question could've easily been 'Which is better?' of the two

Maybe for some people it could easily be that they both stink such as for the thread starter ? That is also a valid option & opinion

 

[Flint Marko]

It's a pretty common opinion around here and elsewhere that both studios have grossly mismanaged their properties in the past and are currently doing the same with Spider-man and the FF. I'm not really saying anything controversial when I say that fox and Sony still appear to be dropping the ball, and I want to know which one, in the eyes of the fans, is the worst offender.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Fox.

 

[Human Torch]

Fox gets the edge.
Sony is clueless.Like babes in the woods not knowing what the heck they're doing.They killed the golden goose,(by dumping Raimi,who'd at least have moved up to producer by now) and have been fumbling around trying to get something to stick ever since.

Fox on the other hand, are just plain spiteful.They clearly don't give a crap for what the fans think about their plans for FF. They've only really had success with the X-Men due to keeping Jackman and utilizing Singer whenever possible.Once both are gone,all bets are off.

 

[DA_Champion]

Sony might get the edge because of the historical legacy of the Raimi Spider Man films.

If we're just looking at current production, it's Fox because of the X-Men films, which can be attributed entirely to the one-time historical anomaly that is the hiring of Matthew Vaughn.

Bryan Singer himself is mediocre at best and has been for years. His most recent movie was propped up by the legacy of Vaughn's transient leadership. The most emotional scene in DoFP, the airplane scene, is one where one of Vaughn's cast (Fassbender) laments the off-screen death of a character we got to know in Vaughn's movie.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

What is happening at Sony right now is an unprecedented disaster and will probably cost a lot of people their jobs. Clearly Sony is worse and it isn't even close. Fox could put Doom in a pink tutu and they would still be better than Sony right now.

 

[JEM]

It's a pretty common opinion around here and elsewhere that both studios have grossly mismanaged their properties in the past and are currently doing the same with Spider-man and the FF. I'm not really saying anything controversial when I say that fox and Sony still appear to be dropping the ball, and I want to know which one, in the eyes of the fans, is the worst offender.

Problem, you only use comicsbook movies to compare both studios.
It isn't the best ways to see real problem .
When Tom Rothman was the boss, Fox not only made some bad comicsbook films but bad movies ( Alien VS Predator, Babylon AD, Planet of Apes).
The problem was his micro management on the company.

Same thing happen to Sony now because Amy Pascal and Mickael Lynton are bad excutives. Spiderman isn't the only problem for Sony but all movies they produce.
Sorry to be rude t:, but you ask who is worse while Fox had a great year and Sony is just mess now .

For F4, they let Josh Trank do what he wants to do.
We will see if the movie is good or not.

 

[Rike]

Who is worse?

[BLACKOUT]Fanboys.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[CaptainWagner]

Fox has turned X-Men around, and while the FF movie sounds like a mess, we really have nothing substantial to go on. Meanwhile we know for a fact that Sony is absolutly clueless, so they easily take the "worst" prize.

 

[marvelrobbins]

Oh jesus.Threads like this just to start bashing on Fox and Sony

Since Tom Rothman is gone fox as a whole has made better films.

Fox is letting Josh Trank make the film he wanted to make with FF.It remains
to be seen if it will be good or not.

 

[Zant]

Sony might get the edge because of the historical legacy of the Raimi Spider Man films.

If we're just looking at current production, it's Fox because of the X-Men films, which can be attributed entirely to the one-time historical anomaly that is the hiring of Matthew Vaughn.

Bryan Singer himself is mediocre at best and has been for years. His most recent movie was propped up by the legacy of Vaughn's transient leadership. The most emotional scene in DoFP, the airplane scene, is one where one of Vaughn's cast (Fassbender) laments the off-screen death of a character we got to know in Vaughn's movie.

Lol Bryan Singer haters are funny and desperate.

 

[DA_Champion]

Lol Bryan Singer haters are funny and desperate.

There's no desperation, no hatred, and no humour.