Apr 21 2010
Comic book movies without superheroes have struggled recently
I want to see The Losers when it comes out, although it’s probably awful, and was pleasantly surprised by Kick-Ass (which has a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). This got me thinking about financially successful comic book movies without superheroes. After running some numbers, I found they’re really rare nowadays.
According to Box Office Mojo, 18 films adapted from comic books took in over $150 million. All but three of these blockbusters (Men in Black, MIB II and 300) were superhero movies. Of the 15 superhero blockbusters, 8 came out from 2005-2010, 4 came out from 2000-2005, and just the three early Batman movies came out before that.
Another 19 films adapted from comic books took in $75-150 million. Of these, 12 were superhero movies. Of the superhero movies, 6 came out from 2005-2010, 3 came out from 2000-2005, and 3 were older than that (Superman, Superman II and Batman & Robin). The non-superhero movies tended to be significantly older. The only non-superhero movie from 2005-2010 in this range was Wanted (possibly*). From 2000-2005, there was only Road to Perdition. Then there were five older ones.
*The Wanted comics feature superheroes and supervillains quite prominently. The movie used assassins instead. (Other murky calls: I consider Blade, Constantine and Hellboy to be superheroes, but not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
