Warner Bros and DC should just throw in the towel now and admit they will never be able to do better than second place. Marvel is in complete control and they won’t be going anywhere for years.
Pick A Date But Not Any Date
Release dates matter in Hollywood. Blockbusters have been released within the same stretch of weeks for almost four decades because those are times more people are heading to the theater. Films reaching to win some hardware are released at certain times. Ever heard of Oscar Season? Hint: It’s not the time of year a spike in sales of bullet proof vest skyrockets amongst those named Oscar.
Production companies schedule the release of their films so that they have as few of films of their own competing for the box office each week. Staking a claim to a certain weekend years in advance is becoming common practice between the largest of productions. That practice serves two different purposes: 1) Lets the audience know when the next film in a franchise is coming and 2) Dares other companies to try and release a film around the same time.
Marvel has adhered to this practice year after year and it just so happens that “delays” happen with certain films and release dates are pushed back.
Blockbusters Disperse
Summer 2015 was poised to be the biggest, craziest string of releases ever with Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, Star Wars VII, and the Man of Steel sequel. As of now, only one of those films will be released in their original spot, guess which one.
Star Wars VII has been pushed back to a Winter 2015 release, even though Star Wars was one of the originators of the blockbuster concept and all five films following were released in Spring.
But the big battle between studios is between Marvel and Warner Brothers, who owns DC.
Marvel has placed its stake in the ground as THE studio for superhero films and has dominated; however, Warner Bros. had a chance to knock them down a peg with their Man of Steel sequel and subsequent Wonder Woman and Justice League movies, but that time has passed.
Man of Steel may have been hated by a number of fans and critics, but there was certainly a place to build, especially once it was announced that Batman would be in the film. “The Rumble in Metropolis” has been pushed back once, with those involved citing the need to make the story as good as possible. Many saw it as taking the necessary steps to make a quality film, but a huge problem has come to light: the date chosen, May 6, 2016, was one Marvel already announced for a coming film.
Marvel: King of the Hill
Kevin Feige, President of Production at Marvel, has come out saying that Marvel will not be changing its plans, and as of Thursday Marvel has announced that Captain America 3 will be released on May 6. The Warner Bros. camp isn’t sticking to its guns it seems and a source has said that the Man of Steel sequel release will most likely be moved…again.
If Warner Bros. isn’t confident enough to release a film staring two of the most known comic properties in the entire world against a non-team orientated Marvel film, when will they ever have the resolve to take the big step that is needed?
Simple answer: They won’t.
And don’t expect for Marvel to move a release date due to competition any time soon. One reason is that they know they can compete against any movie that is released in the same weekend. But, the other big reason is that with Marvel’s current schedule of releasing two movies each year they run the risk of their films overlapping. Warner Bros./DC have one filmed planned to release in 2016, there is room for them to move to maximize their earnings.
Warner Bros. should admit that they aren’t going to be able to build the empire that Marvel has by following the same route. All parties involved with developing DC properties for the silver screen need to figure out a way to clearly distinguish themselves from the “Marvel method” and shock us all, not with announcements but actual footage.
Until then, Warner Brothers is playing for second.
4 Comments
I don’t think it’s a battle over release dates, I think it’s a battle of quality which, sadly, DC has already lost. With few exceptions, Marvel’s live action movies have all been universally good and a few have bordered on greatness. DC, on the other hand, can’t seem to tell the difference between a barf bucket and their brains. With the exception of the Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel, their live action movies have been pretty dismal. And this is coming from somebody who LIKED Man of Steel AND Superman Returns. Quite frankly, I think the problem is that DC doesn’t respect their own property or else doesn’t know what to do with it. Marvel’s movies have made very few changes to their beloved characters and those changes were usually cosmetic in nature. DC seems to feel the need to screw with their characters, changing their back stories, costumes, power sets etc. for some unknown reason, and usually to their character’s disadvantage. I guess the best way of putting the difference into words is this: Every so often Marvel gets one wrong. The less said about Ghost Rider or Jonah Hex, the better. Every so often DC gets one right. What’s really mystifying, though, is that DC blows Marvel out of the water in the animated movie department. So why can’t the live action movie department get their act together, I wonder?
Whoops, not Jonah Hex. It’s 2:00 am and I am not thinking straight. I meant to say “Daredevil” but one of DC’s stinkers slipped in instead…
I disagree.I think Marvel will blink as everyone I know is looking forward to the Batman Vs Superman movie.It will be the first time in modern history that these 2 will share the silver screen.And as much as I love Cap,I’d spend my hard earned money on DC and wait for Cap to come out on BluRay.
Marvel don’t need to blink. They’ve built a universe that appeals to non-comicbook fans as well as us geeks! DC don’t seem to get it, in any department. for example they display almost a complete lack of humour, Arrow is an excellent series but it is so dark and brooding. Oliver Queen should be funny. Thor 2 was one of the funniest films I’ve seen in a long time. In this way it has broad appeal.
Marvel don’t need to blink. DC need to get some glasses.