Superhero films have been a financial cheat code for the last two decades. It seemed like every film featuring some sort of superpowered character in the 2010s was guaranteed to make a profit, if not become a huge hit. Even the critically polarizing releases seemed to connect with audiences.
We're not in the 2010s anymore. Avengers: Endgame (2018) has seemingly closed the book on the golden age of superhero films, and we're reverting to a period in which comic book source material is not translating. Like, at all. Most of the superhero releases in 2024 have bricked, and we're here to run through them in chronological order.
Madame Web (February 14)
Madame Web is a genuinely baffling viewing experience. The film feels more superfluous than any Sony-Marvel release before it, and the editing is so bizarre it feels like an AI-commissioned version was sent to theaters on accident.
The film, which starred Dakota Johnson in the title role, cost $100 million and only managed to take in $100.5. It may sound like they broke even, but with marketing costs and promo included, Sony did not come out of this rollout with a profit.
The Crow (August 23)
Hollywood has been trying to remake The Crow for a decade, and now that it's finally released, it's hard to imagine why. The remake of the 1994 classic was tepidly released by fans and critics, and it took an absolute beating at the box office.
Despite only boasting a budget of $50 million (small in comparison to some of the other films on this list), The Crow only grossed $23.9 million, according to Box Office Mojo. It's safe to assume we won't be getting another outing from Bill Skarsgaard's version of the character.
Joker: Folie à Deux (October 4)
The most anticipated superhero film of 2024 has also proven to be, for many, the most disappointing. Fans did the opposite of turn out in droves for this DC sequel, with many deriding the writing, the direction, and the decision to incorporate musical elements.
Joker: Folie à Deux cost a whopping $190-200 million, which tracks given that the first film made Warner Bros. a cool $1 billion. The sequel, however, has struggled mightily to recoup its budget. It took several weeks for the film to recoup its budget, and Variety reported that its on pace to lose its studio $150-200 million. No laughing matter, to say to least.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (October 8)
Does anybody remember this film? It would be hyperbolic to say Hellboy: The Crooked Man came and went, because it didn't even feel like the film arrived. It had very little promotion, no stars, and demand for a Hellboy film was at an all-time low following the previous attempt at a reboot.
Budgeted at $20 million, Hellboy: The Crooked Man only managed $1.5 million at the global box office. Truly a tepid statistic, and one that will, presumably, lead to the titular hero being placed on the shelf for a few years.
Venom: The Last Dance (October 25)
The most recent addition, and the release that seems the least like a flop on the surface. Venom: The Last Dance opened number one at the box office, but Variety noted that the $41 million haul is down in comparison to the $80 million opening for Venom (2018) and the $90 million opening for Venom: Let There Carnage (2021), which set a then-pandemic record.
Venom: The Last Dance had a budget of $120 million, and has currently managed $175 million at the global box office, but the domestic haul does not look good, and is likely to dip over the next couple of weeks. All things considered, it will be the least successful film in the trilogy by a wide margin.