Superhero Films' Fading Theatrical Intent

The following is a selection from Brandon Katz of Greenlight Analytics

Superhero films have been a staple of the wider culture and a box office boon for a couple decades now. But recent performance is starting to reveal clear signs of wear for the genre, across both Marvel and DC. As data from Greenlight Analytics shows:

• Most notably, awareness is not an issue for superhero films, as the nine comic book movies that Greenlight looked at since the start of 2024 all had awareness levels of between 60% and 75%.
• Theatrical intent, however, was not as high across the board: Most of these movies were at 50% or below (meaning less than half of those polled were intending to watch in theaters), and even the highest-scoring title – Joker 2 – bombed.
• Greenlight also remarks that these movies are all scoring best with men over 35, while underperforming with younger viewers and women; indicating how these films are becoming less broad-audience fare.

[Check out more around recent superhero film trends, over on TVREV]