All opinions aside about the movie’s artistic merit, what is clear is that it isn’t even close to the money engine that everyone involved had hoped. We’ve all seen the sad Ben Affleck meme, nothing more needs to be said.
That shortfall seems to have caused far more reaching concerns. There is speculation floating about the Internet as to whether or not the failure of the movie is a sign that the comic book bubble is about to burst. Beyond jittery collectors (read: speculators) I’m not sure what is fueling this apprehension.
My 5 reasons the bubble is not about the burst:
- There is no bubble. The circumstances now are entirely different then they were in the 90s. Of no small importance, comic books and graphic novels are far more main stream now. They are becoming part of the curriculum for high schools and universities.
- There is an assumption in the concern that there is a strong correlation between box office performance of superhero movies and comic book sales. While I agree that there is obviously some interrelationship I don’t believe it’s that robust.
- There have been ‘not so successful’ superhero movies that preceded it (anyone remember the Green Lantern flick) which were followed by blockbusters. I think what we are seeing with BvS is strictly a film (as a medium) specific lesson that Hollywood can’t seem to grasp – awesome CGI doesn’t compensate for a crappy story.
- Superhero comic books are not the only type of comic books there are. Globally that is true and it is becoming more so every day.
- DC Comics’ issues are not representative of systemic industry issues. What we are seeing is corporate Darwinism at work.