I hear you but when you hear about how good the Thunderbolts was from fans on the board and critics you have to worry about box office fatigue concerning Superheroes. I understand that Marvel has lost its trust after watching Quantumania and the Marvels, geesh those movies were bad. Superman is one of the top 3 known Superheroes along with Batman and Spider-Man so the expectation is for it to do well. Like it or not Superman might be the key to the future of all Comic book movies as a whole. I mean Universal and Marvel both sandwiched the movie because of what the general audience and studios thought of the DCEU. The marketing has been outstanding and Gunn is probably the best comic book movie director currently so I expect Superman to change the story concerning fatigue.
Side note supposedly F1 and Superman will have most of the premium screens for IMax and Jurassic Rebirth will get shafted during late June and most of July. This will have a big affect on the box office.
To be honest, Marvel still has the most goodwill with the general moviegoing audience, even though it’s shakier post Endgame. It’s still far more positive than DC or the Sony-verse right now. I wouldn’t go as far as to say Superman is the key to the future of all comic book movies. I do agree that its success would be great for the genre overall, but I wouldn’t consider it the linchpin for the future of comic book films.
Last year, Marvel only had Deadpool & Wolverine, and that still hit $1.3 billion. Even Lilo & Stitch, which is doing really well and is tracking to hit around $1.1 billion, might not catch Deadpool 3’s numbers.
Looking ahead, Marvel has Avengers Doomsday and Spider-Man Brand New Day next year, both guaranteed billion-dollar films. Financially, Marvel’s next few years are going to be very strong, no matter what happens with Superman.
Superman’s performance is more important for DC and the DCU’s future, not the comic book genre as a whole. (Though if it’s good, it will certainly help the genre overall.) But I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s the key to the future of all comic book movies.
That said, all Superman really needs to do is be good and mostly liked, it doesn’t have to be universally loved or declared the greatest comic book movie since The Dark Knight. If it’s generally well received, and the majority of people who see it genuinely really enjoy it, that’s enough. Even if it’s only on the level of James Gunn’s so-called “weakest” film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (which was still a solid movie), it can definitely cross $700–800 million.
Man of Steel, was a very divisive and polarizing film that many (myself included) didn’t like, and yet it still crossed over $600 million. Gunn’s Superman will no doubt be a better, more replayable, fun, and accessible film, giving it a strong shot at reaching $800 million or more if it really connects and is overall enjoyable.
And if you look at Gunn’s track record with the quality of his comic book movies, he hasn’t missed yet. I fully expect Superman to continue that streak, but we’ll see come July 11th. All I know is, I’ll be there day one, regardless of the reviews.
And I honestly think a lot of people will feel the same way. Even if it somehow scores in the low 70s on Rotten Tomatoes, which I don’t believe for a second it will. People are still going to rush out in droves to see it, especially families with little kids. Who will definitely respond more to this Superman than Snyder’s version.
