(Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Movies)
Now it has been an exciting superhero summer for some while there are an analytical few that feel that it has been a major fail for the Film industry. In fact, the superhero franchise this season has not had the ability to achieve the vast success of that which Iron Man and it's even better sequel has gained. According to
Movie Talk, there are 5 reasons as to why this superhero season is tanking.
1. Too Many Men In Tights
Honestly I have to agree with this myself. I do love the sight of all my childhood superheroes coming to the screen but how many times are we going to see the world get saved? Do you ever wonder why in the films we never see another hero show up out of the blue (in response) to another heroes quest of saving the world? I mean the world is only so big and we have so many superheroes out here. It's just funny to think of Wolverine showing up to Green lantern's battle. Guess that the reasons for the multitude of Fake cities (i.e. Coast City, Gotham City, etc.) and alliances such as the Justice League, Avengers, and others.
2. Not Enough Young Dudes Going To The Movies
Now this should honestly be your target audience, but one thing you have to remember is that the 25 and up club was the main source of the comic-reading audience before the adaptation to film. 67% of the "Green Lantern's" film audience were men but only 37% of those men were under 25. "Thor's" audience consisted of only 28% of men under 25, while "X-Men: First Class" consisted 46% for the same demographic. Men under 25 are definitely the most active moviegoers and have to accommodated to make these films much more successful.
3. 3D Is Dragging The Genre Down
Just like the rest of the Film Industry at this point, viewers are have grown past the 3D Fade and continue to view films in 2D Format as we have always. What is so crazy is how we are constantly pushed into viewing interested films in the 3D Format every week and how the Film Industry is continually spending so much money to convert the films in this format when honestly people could care less. Only people that honestly care are the children because they think the classes are so cool.
For example, Green Lantern added $200 million to its production cost to convert it into the 3D Format. Now do you really think that it will recoup those costs at the box office?
4. Superhero Stars Cannot Measure Up To Robert Downey Jr.'s Comeback
We all know the turbulent history that Robert Downey Jr. has had with drugs and run-ins with the law and the audiences expectations of a successful comeback is what has given it much more appeal that other superhero films. Not to say that any of the lead characters did any less of a great job themselves, but we all know "Everyone loves Drama". Also the fact that Robert Downey Jr. had something to prove. Having the comedic touch and good direction of Jon Favreau also added that appeal to a good script.
5. They're Called Second-Tier Superheroes For a Reason
Very few superheroes outside of "Batman", "Spiderman", and "Superman" have been able to establish themselves as a worldwide hit. "Ironman" has definitely shown to be a certified exception. Most of the films have achieved good success in the box office with the adaptation of the superhero films, but lost out dramatically with their sequels. For example, the adaptation of "Fantastic Four" did exceptionally well but "Rise of the Silver Surfer" only did 65% of what the original accomplished. Others films such as "The Incredible Hulk" and its many adaptations, have failed to have a great start or even develop a sequel.
In conclusion, the film industry needs to perform much more extensive research during pre-production to ensure that the right target audience is being accommodated.
Til Next time...Continue to check out other post on
Reel to Real.
