Marvel Studios Box-Office Slump Shows Limits of Disney’s Superhero Universe

[Randy Stankey]

I have just the solution. Marvel should try making a Bananaman movie...

Yes! That's EXACTLY what is needed! Yes, yes and YES!!

A completely irreverent but comically faithful sendup of a superhero movie. Not just a "clean" takeoff like "The Incredibles" but a total spoof in the style of Rocky and Bullwinkle. (The original TV series, not that gawd awful, CGI, animated, piece of crap movie they made.) One that breaks down all the barriers, so to speak.

Let it be R-Rated... or, at least a "Soft R." Enough that you can throw in a few off-color jokes and still get away with it.

As they used to say in the Vaudeville days: Let's "murder the show."

[Frank Cox]

Ummm.... wasn't that called Deadpool?

[Randy Stankey]

Close. So was "Orgasmo."

Deadpool was more of a sendup on X-Men. Orgasmo was more of a B-movie mashup.
I'm thinking of a no-holds-barred lampoon. Something on the order of "Blazing Saddles," hopefully, done by Marvel, themselves, or at least a party far enough removed that Marvel/Disney can claim plausible deniability.

I remember hearing a legend that, in the Vaudeville days, when a show was tanking, on the last performance, members of the company would "murder the show."
All the different acts would change places and ape each other, making fun of themselves. The singer might take the place of the emcee. The comedy acts might take the place of the actors or the stunt performers. Everybody would do a different part and just lampoon the hell out of the whole thing.

IDK. Maybe it's a FOAF story (Friend of a Friend) but that's the legend I heard.

I'm thinking about something like "Roger Ramjet" on steroids, done in the style of an actual Marvel movie.

[Mike Blakesley]

Disney is really missing out by not making a “Super Goof” movie. I’m surprised they haven’t yet.

[Jon Dent]

I remember hearing a legend that, in the Vaudeville days, when a show was tanking, on the last performance, members of the company would "murder the show."
All the different acts would change places and ape each other, making fun of themselves. The singer might take the place of the emcee. The comedy acts might take the place of the actors or the stunt performers. Everybody would do a different part and just lampoon the hell out of the whole thing.

There's a theater tradition that is a bit like this. Not sure how widespread it is but in college whenever we had a multi week run of a production we'd have a 'maintenance' rehearsal somewhere during it. Everything you described above happened. It was a good time.

[Martin Brooks]

We can complain about the overwhelming number of superhero/cartoon movies, prequels and sequels all we want. The fact remains that these are the films that draw the biggest crowds. It's not like anyone is showing up for intelligent adult films, like they used to. The audiences that used to inhabit the smaller theaters in Westwood and the upper East and West sides in NYC don't really exist anymore. I don't even think "The Godfather' would be a hit if it was first released today and films like "Lawrence of Arabia", "Gandhi" and "The Last Emperor of China" would't be either.

Top five domestic (North American) films of each year:
2015:
Jurassic World
Star Wars Episode VII
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Inside Out
Furious 7

2016:
Finding Dory
Rogue One
Captain America: Civil War
The Secret Life of Pets
The Jungle Book

2017:
Star Wars Episode VIII
Beauty and the Beast
Wonder Woman
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
Spider-Man: Homecoming

2018:
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Incredibles 2
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Deadpool 2

2019:
Avengers: Endgame
The Lion King
Toy Story 4
Frozen II
Captan Marvel

2020:
Bad Boys for Life
1917
Sonic the Hedgehog
Jumanji: The Next Level
Star Wars Episode IX

2021:
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Black Widow
F9: The First Saga

2022 (so far):
Top Gun: Maverick
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Jurassic World Dominion
the Batman
Minions: The Rise of Gru

So out of those 40 films, there's only one that's not a cartoon, superhero movie, sequel or prequel: "1917".

So that's why studios are making what they're making.

It wasn't really different ten years ago:
2012:
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hunger Games
Skyfall
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

Or 20 years ago:
2002:
Spider-Man
Star Wars; Episode II
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Signs
My Big Fat Wedding

OK, the last two are not superhero movies, etc.

30 years ago:
1992:
Batman Returns
Lethal Weapon 3
Sister Act
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Wayne's World

40 years ago (only slightly better):
1982:
E.T.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rocky III
On Golden Pond
An Officer and a Gentleman