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http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...?coll=la-headlines-entnews&ctrack=1&cset=true
Which Superhero Films Pack Box Office Punch?
Why do X-Men slay while Daredevil takes a dive? We asked the experts.
By Deborah Netburn, Times Staff Writer
June 8 2006
With a gross of $120 million on its opening weekend, "X-Men: The Last Stand" officially joined the ranks of superpowered superhero movies like "Superman" (1978), "Batman" (1989) and "Spiderman" (2002) all of which broke the box office records of their day. Of course not all superhero movies have accomplished such incredible feats. "Daredevil," starring Ben Affleck, only did $40 million on its opening weekend and Jennifer Garner's "Elektra" did a measly $12.8 million. With "Superman Returns" debuting June 28 with a $200 million-plus budget and dozens of comic book inspired films in development, we asked the experts to tell us what makes a superhero flick fly.
Augie De Blieck Jr., a columnist for comicbookresources.com, says a superhero film's success depends on its ability to reach beyond the obvious fan base of geeked out teenage (or teenage acting) boys. "You're never going to please the hardcore fans, and there aren't enough of them to make a movie big enough for Hollywood," he said. "The top selling comic each month is lucky to break 200,000 copies. That's a drop in the Hollywood bucket."
According to De Blieck, the real story behind "X-Men's" success is that exit polling on the film showed an audience split evenly across the four demographic categories -- men under 25 years old, men over 25, women under 25 and women over 25.
"That indicates that the movie is working as more than just a comic book movie," says De Blieck. "It works as an entertaining action vehicle with certain emotional twists. The guys can go enjoy the spectacle of the film, and their girlfriends can enjoy the emotional difficulties of being a mutant."
As for whether "Superman Returns" will fare as well, De Blieck thinks it has a fighting chance.
"With the budget it has and the excitement that's building around it, 'Superman Returns' will either be the biggest bomb of the year or a smashing success," he says. "I have enough faith in Bryan Singer, thanks to the first two 'X-Men' movies, that I think it'll do well. It has the Fourth of July weekend all to itself, which I think will be a huge help. I doubt 'The Devil Wears Prada' will be a big threat."
Josh Flanagan, co-founder of the weekly iFanBoy.com comic book podcast, says he was surprised that "X-Men" did so well. He attributes the impressive opening weekend to the success of the two previous films and the comics' popular cartoon series on the Fox network from 10 years ago. "It is a cultural thing," he said. "In a funny way, comic book movies can get by on not being very good."
Flanagan has high hopes for the success of "Superman Returns" though. "I think for one thing this is the kind of movie that can be patriotic and tap into what the United States is craving in a movie right now," he said. "I think it will resonate with a lot of people."
Brandon Gray, the brains and just about everything else behind Box Office Mojo says there is a direct correlation between the popularity of the superhero and the success of the film.
"The most disappointing superhero movies, especially of late, have been the ones concerning minor characters in the superhero world like 'Elektra' and 'Catwoman,'" he says. "The three most popular superheroes in the culture" -- Superman, Batman and Spiderman -- "yielded the biggest grosses of their day and blockbuster returns overall."
Gray concedes that the X-Men characters are not as popular as the big three, but argues that they have seeped into popular culture. "They rank up there pretty high in terms of people's awareness of character's like Wolverine and Magneto," he said. "'The Fantastic Four' also had good awareness and yielded decent box office."
Gray added that solid marketing and a good track record of the two previous "X-Men" films helped the most recent "X-Men" flick. "Basically, if people like the previous two movies then they are more apt to rush out and see the new one."
As for whether "Superman Returns" will be a success however, Gray says it is definitely one of the riskier event pictures of the summer. He has concerns about the lack of consistent approach in the marketing of the film and that Brandon Routh's Superman may be too similar to Christopher Reeve's Superman. He also worries about the new plot point of Lois Lane having a kid. Still, he believes the movie has promise.
"It should do big business because the character is still popular enough and the movie looks good enough to draw a crowd," he says. "There are just concerns about the marketing and the premise of the movie."
