Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
For the past 10 years or so, Marvel Studios has been a juggernaut in theaters. It has cemented itself into the cultural zeitgeist with its characters becoming staples of modern cinema.
But after “Avengers: Endgame,” the studio has been in a period of decline as shown by its box office sales of their recent films. For instance, “The Marvels” grossed $206.1 million on a $274 million budget and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” grossed $476.1 million but failed to break even. Moreover, Marvel has put out a slew of other movie disappointments that either failed to meet expectations at the box office or were critically bashed by audiences. They had to bring back older characters to see satisfactory results.
“Deadpool and Wolverine” grossed $1.26 billion worldwide on a $200 million budget and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” grossed $1.91 million worldwide on a $200 million budget, as stated by Box Office Mojo.
Now that moviegoers cannot rely on Marvel films to satisfy their franchise film needs, they are looking for a new staple in their cinema trips.
So far, other categories have flourished at the box office, like the avant-garde nature of A24 films with “Everything Everywhere All At Once” or blockbusters such as “Godzilla x Kong.” But there is one particular category that stands out to me in terms of permeating the cultural sphere the way Marvel has.
With more successful film entries over the next few years, the video game genre will become the next Marvel in cinema.
Now, I know that is quite a bold statement, especially with the reputation of video game adaptations thanks to the awful “Resident Evil” movie trilogy and the critically panned “Doom.” Yet, there are signs that the video game movie adaptation genre shows promise.
According to Box Office Mojo, in 2023, both “Five Nights at Freddy’s“ and “The Super Mario Bros Movie” placed 19th and second in terms of box office numbers, both grossing over $200 million worldwide despite the bad press and mixed reviews. In 2022, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and “Uncharted” both grossed over $400 million worldwide, placing them at No. 14 and 13 in the box office charts.
Even without Marvel’s lapse in movie quality, Marvel and video game adaptations have always catered to the same audience: the ever-so-reliable geeks and nerds (which I am a part of) who will see every movie and play every trendy video game.
Both types of adaptations use nostalgia to entice viewers. Most video game adaptations come from childhood IPs and young children read a lot of Marvel Comics, so advertisements for either one of them on the big screen will likely bring them to theaters.
Personally, I was a huge fan of the MCU and I have always been a huge fan of video games, but right now, I am more attracted to watching a video game adaptation than a subpar Marvel movie, especially with the quality of their latest releases.
I’m almost certain that studios understand that there is a gap in cinema revenue after Marvel has become less profitable. Taking on video game adaptations to fill that gap is almost a surefire way to exploit that same audience that Marvel has kept under their finger for so long. They seem to be aware of the trend with the upcoming “Street Fighter” and “Minecraft” movies and more adaptations of games like “Death Stranding” and “The Legend of Zelda.”
With all of these changes to cinema as of late, Marvel’s lack of quality has created a space for another to take over, and I think that video game IPs could be the next Marvel in cinema.
___________
Follow the Graphic on X: @PeppGraphic
Contact Christy Thien via email: christy.thien@pepperdine.edu or by Instagram: @christy.e.t
