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(A preface before I get called a hater: I like superhero movies as one part of my movie-going diet. I liked the MCU until Endgame disappointed me and I experienced the inevitable burnout from MCU overdose.)
I get the sentiments of people going "calm down, let people enjoy what they want," but I feel like they're overlooking just how dominant superhero movies are. It's unprecedented. No other genre has dominated the same way in movie history-- no, not even the western (this excellent article smashes that oft-used but misleading idea: https://selfstyledsiren.substack.com/p/box-office-blues). About the closest comparison you can make to modern blockbusters are the big historical/biblical/roadshow epics of the 1950s and 1960s that studios used to draw people away from their television sets, but even then, the movies in the top ten highest grossers during those decades weren't mostly that one genre. Smaller comedies, adult dramas, westerns, and other such genres could also make a mint. There was more variety in what audiences chose to see, even before New Hollywood burst onto the scene in 1967.
I have no desire for them to stop making superhero movies or to tell people who still love them to stop loving them, but it is interesting (some might say concerning) that those are the only movies that get massive audience these days. The days where an adult drama (that isn't linked to Batman) penetrated the popular imagination are long gone. There are a great many possible reasons for this: the ascendancy of streaming, the increasing costs of big-budget Hollywood movies, the corporatization of Hollywood, Disney becoming a brand monopoly. It's hard to diagnose one single cause.
Never forget all movies are a business designed to make profit. They found a rich and successful vein with super hero comic book action and are going for it.
It may not be my interest but people are buying tickets. Until some more masterful movies come out, this is what we get. L
I've got some news for you. A lot of action and adventure movies made way more money than dramas did. In fact a lot of dramas made little money. For instance Terminator 2 made way more money in theaters in 1991 than any of the dramas that were nominated for best picture at the Oscars. Jurassic Park made way more money in 1993 than any of the Oscar best picture nominees. And Men in Black made way more money than L.A Confidential, As Good as It Gets, or Good Will Hunting.
If anything, Superhero movies have replaced the action genre. So like the action movies I mentioned, superhero movies are making lots of money now. And from my research from box office mojo, dramas have usually never done as well.
Superhero movies are action movies. Just take Iron man as an example. The main difference between Iron man and Terminator is that the terminator is the good guy this time.
shareBlockbusters will aways do better in the box officer. They benefit from large screens and good audio equipment in the theater far more than some life drama would. We live in an age where most movies are accesible with a few clicks on the keyboard, box office isnt even half the income the studios get for the movies anymore. If course its going to be dominated by the genre(s) that benefit from big theater experience.
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