“Superhero fatigue” is a buzzword that’s consistently thrown around to signal that audiences are fed up with superhero-centric blockbusters. And for a while, it seemed like superhero fatigue was more of a DC issue, as Marvel’s films continued to prosper, even after the release of “Avengers: Endgame.” However, over the last year, the amount of superhero-related content has exploded, creating indifference among audiences.
The DCEU technically hasn’t had a major hit since 2018’s billion-dollar-grossing “Aquaman,” which boasted stellar legs thanks to the holiday season and a $300 million posting from China. The franchise has released back-to-back bombs since then, with three others this year in the form of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “The Flash,” and “Blue Beetle.” But those “Endgame” glory days are over as not even Marvel Studios is safe — they recently suffered a significant loss with “The Marvels,” which rounded out its theatrical run with a $200 million total.
The proof is in the financial pudding: audiences are slowly growing disinterested in superhero-related projects, and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is the latest causality in this viewership assault. Overexposure is no doubt leading to a lack of financial prosperity — no superhero film has crossed the $1 billion barrier since 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Have audiences become inundated with too much superhero content, both on streaming and in multiplexes? Or is this a bad movie issue?
