In the early 2000s, after a few successful movie releases, the superhero genre exploded in popularity. New film universes sprouted from the newfound attention that comic book characters had gathered, and as Marvel movies continued to make exponentially more ridiculous amounts of money, Hollywood thought it had finally cracked the code – and it was right. From 2008’s Iron Man to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, no Marvel movie lost a dime; in fact, among the 13 films that released from 2015-2020, the average Marvel movie generated 1.2 billion dollars. So, naturally, seeing the rampant growth of the genre, Disney increased production and released another 14 films in the five years that followed. However, from 2020-2025, despite plenty of funding, the average profit of said films plummeted by nearly half a billion dollars, and worse, four movies lost money. What Hollywood thought was a foolproof recipe for success became a huge risk – leaving Hollywood shellshocked by its newfound struggles and left with an important question: Are superhero movies dead?

The answer isn’t so clear. While yes, superhero films (Marvel or otherwise) have been on the decline since the pandemic, it’s not entirely the fault of the movies themselves. Even after their re-opening, movie theaters still haven’t fully recovered from the devastation the pandemic inflicted upon them, and profits have declined for all movies (although the decline of superhero films has been a much steeper one). Some say it may just be a loss of public appetite for the genre as a whole, and others say the movies just aren’t as good as they used to be. According to James Gunn, the new director of DC Studios, the latter is more accurate – fans don’t have “superhero fatigue,” they just have “bad movie fatigue.” In the 2010s, just about anything superhero-related was an automatic box-office success, and assuming this would continue, studios grew lazy and stopped worrying about making quality projects. Gunn says the secret is simple – make good movies.

This year, Marvel took that sentiment to heart, deciding to cut back on production, delay other pre-planned projects, and put out just three films – two of which ended up being some of the best reviewed among Marvel movies in years. James Gunn, following his own advice, only produced one with DC – Superman – which was also very well received. However, concerningly, despite the respective studios putting out quality projects, only one managed to narrowly surpass $500 million in revenue.

So what’s the answer? Were superhero movies just a trend, or is something still holding them back? The truth is, it’s not quite time to hit the panic button yet. While the box office issues this year have been concerning, perhaps it’s a step in the right direction. If a bad sports team finally wins a game or two – no one will be ready to declare they’re going to win a championship. It takes consistent quality play to convince the masses, and that’s what it’s going to take to claw back the attention of fans. If the respective studios can continue to put out quality projects, fans will come back – but it won’t happen overnight.