Is Superhero Movies Poll a Concern?

 by Ray Keating

Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

August 6, 2022

 

Disney continues to go all in on Marvel superhero movies, with Kevin Feige recently announcing Phases 5 and 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). For good measure, Warner Bros. Discovery, amidst controversy over its cancellation of Batgirl, is pointing to a 10-year DC superheroes plan.

At the same time, Morning Consult released a poll of American adults on whether or not they enjoy superhero movies. The title of the survey piece was “Superhero Film Fatigue Is Up From Last Year — Even Among Marvel Fans,” and it naturally grabbed online attention. But what are the key points from this poll?

 

First, in July 2022, 59 percent of adults said they enjoyed superhero movies, compared to 64 percent in November 2021. Those that do not enjoy superhero movies went from 36 percent in November 2021 to 41 percent in July 2022.

 

Second, among Marvel fans, those who enjoy superhero movies declined from 87 percent in November to 82 percent in July, and those saying they do not went from 13 percent in November to 18 percent in July.

 

Third, while this move in a negative direction warrants watching, it also must be noted that the poll has a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points. That means that each poll percentage can be as much as two points higher or lower. So, the changes in survey results between November and July just barely lie outside the margin of error, meaning that the relatively small changes cited might actually be even smaller.

 

Fourth, Gen Z adults were the only age group that had a larger share saying that they enjoyed superhero movies, going from 47 percent in November to 53 percent in July.

 

So, what can we really take away from these results? Even with a small move down between November and July, superhero movies remain highly popular with the public. However, no one in the superhero movie business should simply rest easy with these results. 

 

But I doubt that the slight move down in polling is about so-called “superhero film fatigue.” Instead, it has to do with the quality of movies. After Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the Marvel movies have fallen off notably in quality. 

 

The best of the lot were thanks to Sony’s Spider-Man films - Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) in the directorial hands of Sam Raimi. The other four movies – Black Widow (2021), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Eternals (2021), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) – ranked as middling to simply bad.

 

It also should be noted that other than Loki, the MCU streaming shows on Disney+ have not exactly been “wowing” many.

 

In general, movie-goers don’t suffer genre fatigue. Instead, they grow fatigued with uninteresting, forgettable, poor quality movies. That’s the lesson for Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and anyone else in the superhero movie game – indeed, in the movie game in general.

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, and the Alliance of Saint Michael novels; and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Two great ways to order Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel, which is Ray’s sixteenth work of fiction, and the first in the Alliance of Saint Michael series. Signed paperbacks here and the Kindle edition here. 

 

Two great ways to order Ray Keating’s new nonfiction book – The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Signed paperbacks here, and paperbacks, hardcovers and Kindle editions here.  

 

Get all of Ray Keating Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries in paperback and for the Kindle at Amazon.com and signed books at www.RayKeatingOnline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

 

Who Are the Superheroes in Hollywood?

by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

February 26, 2019

Do you want to know the real state of the movie business today? Well, then simply read a Wall Street Journal piece titled “Superheroes are Rescuing Hollywood” by Andy Kessler. 

That’s right, I writing to tell you to read something by another writer. Suddenly, I feel like Andy Richter and Kyle Gass, playing two writers, sitting across the desk from James Caan’s Walter in Elf, urging Walter to go hire another writer, Miles Finch (Peter Dinklage). Hey, sometimes you just have to tip your hat.

Anyway, Kessler nails what’s wrong with Hollywood, and why the industry, which looks down on superhero movies, would be a complete mess without such superhero movies.

So, what’s wrong with the movie biz these days? Kessler points to the following:

• “In a decade, 20 Marvel superhero movies have grossed a total of more than $17 billion. That pays for a lot of dull arty films, flatulence-joke comedies and oversexed, clichéd rom-coms that nobody goes to. It’s as if Hollywood has forgotten how to make movies people want to go see.”

• “At the Oscars, the word ‘best’ in best picture has been watered down to be almost meaningless. Same with ‘based on a true story.’ They’re almost all message movies doing battle in America’s overblown culture wars, and they either rehash past cultural transgressions, are antibusiness, or both.”

• “Hardly anyone watches one of the message movies these days until it’s been nominated as ‘best.’ And of course, they have to have the right message. Ryan Coogler’s terrific ‘Black Panther’ was criticized for being too conservative. Its theme of ‘let’s all work together’ was considered not revolutionary enough. Really? Jeez, everyone’s a critic. The last truly pro-business movie was ‘Ghostbusters,’ in 1984. When the villain from the Environmental Protection Agency orders the ghostbusters’ ‘Containment Unit’ shut down, Dr. Egon Spengler says: ‘Excuse me, this is private property!’ Ah, the good old days.”

• “Don’t get me wrong—I like many of today’s films (well, not ‘A Star Is Born’). But when they fade to black I’m left with a bad feeling, sensing that I’ve been manipulated into a social-justice guilt trip... When I want preaching, I’ll go to a house of worship or read the New York Times.”

Nailed it!

So, what does Kessler see as positives in today’s movie industry? Well, to be honest, not a heck of a lot. His best case is the following on superhero movies: “The plots are similar and shallow: Outsmart villains, save the world, fight a giant monster, and resolve somebody’s daddy issues. But they entertain. Movies are supposed to transport you somewhere else for 110 minutes, then drop you back into your mundane existence. You want to see something you’ve never seen before—hence the success of watery ‘Aquaman’ and vapid ‘Venom.’ Audiences want faraway galaxies, explosions and a little humor. And when that gets old, just have the superheroes fight each other.”

The entertainment business used to be about entertainment. But so many in Hollywood are just looking to, as Kessler highlights, preach. 

Listen, I write novels. My first objective is entertaining the reader. That’s what Shakespeare was out to do, so if it was good enough for the Bard, it’s certainly works for this lowly novelist. Down on the list, I sometimes make a point in the story. Hopefully, it’s not preaching and it doesn’t overwhelm. My books aren’t all about the message. I simply try to make my point – when I look to make one – a natural part of the story.

Hollywood today would do well to recall what Walt Disney once said, “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.” Of course, Walt’s use of the word “educate” is very different from the agendas being driven in Hollywood today, but you get the point.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels, with the three latest books being Reagan Country: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, Heroes and Villains: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Storyand Shifting Sands: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story. He can be contacted at raykeating@keatingreports.com.