The new Ant-Man epic is a big hit, again raising the question what is the box office magic embedded in Marvel’s superhero (or super-insect) movies? How long will it sustain?
The “magic” is a relatively new phenomenon: Thirty years ago this summer, in fact, Peter Guber ran into a brick wall trying to persuade Warner Bros to finance a superhero movie. The creative types at the studio didn’t buy either the genre or the title – Batman. Not ones to be rebuffed, Guber and his then-partner Jon Peters went to work on the studio’s merchandising and foreign sales teams to rally support.
Not only did the movie ultimately get made (Tim Burton directed), but superhero movies have held the keys to the kingdom ever since — Ant-Man and the Wasp is Marvel’s 20th. Seven of last year’s 11 top-grossing movies were proud (?) representatives of this genre. “Hollywood’s...
The “magic” is a relatively new phenomenon: Thirty years ago this summer, in fact, Peter Guber ran into a brick wall trying to persuade Warner Bros to finance a superhero movie. The creative types at the studio didn’t buy either the genre or the title – Batman. Not ones to be rebuffed, Guber and his then-partner Jon Peters went to work on the studio’s merchandising and foreign sales teams to rally support.
Not only did the movie ultimately get made (Tim Burton directed), but superhero movies have held the keys to the kingdom ever since — Ant-Man and the Wasp is Marvel’s 20th. Seven of last year’s 11 top-grossing movies were proud (?) representatives of this genre. “Hollywood’s...
- 7/12/2018
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
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