DC Comic has been a childhood staple for many generations but somehow the characters have failed again and again in enchanting viewers in a live-action movie. The success of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker movie, however, helped paved the path for Robert Pattinson’s The Batman standalone movie. Here’s how
DC is the home of the world’s most powerful superheroes. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman are exciting fans for more than 70- years now. DC’s Superman alone has been entertaining fans for more than 82 years. And not to mention is a HUGE pop-culture icon.
However, DC has failed again and again in capitalizing on its superheroes in a live-action movie. The studio owned by Warner Bros has been constantly conflicted between a superhero saga and standalone movies.
DCEU Failures
DC Extended Universe kicked things off with Man of Steel (MoS) in 2013 starring Henry Cavill. The movie received critical reviews and left many fans wanting for more as Zack Snyder’s depiction of Superman was pretty successful. The film grossed over $110 million on its opening weekend and went on to accumulate over $650 million worldwide.
Following MoS, Superman had to face off against The Dark Knight in 2016 Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Even though the film was profitable it didn’t please fans worldwide. At the box-office, the film’s opening collection seemed most promising. But it soon took a sharp turn and worldwide collections ended up being a disappointment at $810 million.
Right when DC was recovering from the blow of Batman Vs Superman, another 2016 release Suicide Squad ended up a bigger disappointment.
The next film that came out was Wonder Woman in 2017. Breaking the box-office record Wonder Woman was a critical success. With WW, DC earned its confidence back only to make a mistake again. Or say more of a blunder this time around, Justice League.
Following up after Joss Whedon’s 2017 Justice League turned out to be a huge disappointment. So much so that for the past 3 years fans have been asking the studio to release the Snyder’s Cut of the Justice League.
Further, the 2018 Aquaman and Shazam helped to tip the scales in DC’s favour.
Joker Shows The Way
Come 2019, Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker saved the day for DC Universe. Joker, a standalone film on The Clown Prince of Crime, has become one of the biggest hits in being a comic-book adaptation. The beauty lies in the fact that it’s a comic book movie minus the superhero movie.
The film went on gross a 107.4 billion USD worldwide and dominated the award season including the Academy Awards. The Joker’s take on the mental health and the darker theme resonated with the audience well. The phenomenal success of the movie also made WB focus on the stand-alone movies.
2020 Birds of Prey was a fair movie. We got to see a lot of our favourite Maiden of Mischief- the infamous Harley Quinn and her shenanigans. But the film wasn’t much of hit, owing to DC’s track record. People didn’t want to see it on a big screen as they thought it might not be as good.
Dwindling expectations result in sub-par support at promotional events and consequently, lower-than-expected returns from the theatres. Coupled with Joker’s success showed the way to DC for keeping the pace with standalone movies.
The upcoming Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s The Batman is opening new doors for the DC universe. The movie is in no way connected to the DCEU and fans are already hyped about the new Batman and his villains.
Only time will tell whether fans will favour the new Batman and his Arkham Knight storyline or not.
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