5 Superhero Movie Flops That Changed The Genre Forever

Superhero movies, unlike many of their lead characters, aren’t bulletproof. While studio executives perceive these projects as assured moneymakers, they can perform like “Steel” as easily as they can deliver grosses on par with “The Avengers.” The superhero movies that bombed the hardest at the box office are the most vivid example of this phenomenon. Sometimes, such box office duds just vanish from the cultural conciousness the moment they leave theaters. It’s the very definition of the old “out of sight, out of mind” axiom.

However, there have also been flop superhero films that have had far greater, more unforgettable consequences on the larger world. Five superhero movies in particular had a tremendous impact on the superhero cinema landscape. Sometimes, this meant that certain characters were permanently shelved. Other times, it mean certain aesthetics or long-term franchise plans were no longer possible. Still others inspired studio executives to question the inherent financial validity of superhero films. 

Whatever the larger takeaway was from these box office failures, the ripple effects of their shortcomings was immense. There are lots of ways these projects can go haywire financially and adversely impact their cinematic brethren. Here are five superhero features that proved not every entry in this genre can be as massive as “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” or “The Dark Knight.”

Today, “Batman & Robin” has garnered a notable cult following and plenty of defenders. Modern Batman-themed projects like “The People’s Joker” include affectionate dedications to “Batman & Robin” helmer Joel Schumacher, while praise has also been lavished on how distinctly the project reflects his unique passions. Back in the late ’90s, though, “Batman & Robin” wasn’t just more divisive in its audience reception. It was viewed as a toxic box office flop that jeopardized the very existence of other comic book features.

After grossing only $238.25 million worldwide on a $125 million budget, the “Batman” film saga that had previously seemed unstoppable now ground to a halt. It was hard to gain studio enthusiasm for more Batman adventures with “Batman & Robin” becoming a laughingstock. Plus, if the star of 1989’s “Batman” could sink this low financially, what hope did other superhero films have at the box office? Even after subsequent superhero films proved there was box office life after “Batman & Robin,” the feature’s toxic reputation lingered over the superhero movie landscape.

When “Batman Begins” got off to a slower start at the domestic box office, the idea that audiences were still smarting from “Batman & Robin” was prevalent. In February 2010, this sequel was voted the worst movie ever, while its reception has also been seen as the reason Dick Grayson/Robin has been absent from movie theaters for three decades. “Batman & Robin” finally found its fanbase, but it took years of adversely affecting superhero films to get there.

Long before the first “Lanterns” trailer revealed HBO’s Green Lantern reboot, there was Hal Jordan/Green Lantern’s live-action film debut. In 2011, “Green Lantern” soared into theaters under a wave of immense expectations. Dropping three years after “Iron Man” launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this title was being eyeballed as the start of a new interconnected universe of DC Comics movies. The future success of the film was simply taken for granted in press coverage during the run-up to its release, while key “Green Lantern” crew members got cryptic and dodgy when asked about how the film could set up further DC Comics properties.

Under ideal circumstances, “Green Lantern ” would’ve been lucrative enough to prove Warner Bros. could launch DC blockbusters beyond Batman and Superman films, while being the “Iron Man” equivalent of a new DC Comics saga. That never happened, of course, with Ryan Reynolds’ “Green Lantern” bombing spectacularly at the box office. This dismal outcome (totaling just $237.2 million worldwide) immediately killed off any chances for “Green Lantern 2.” It also ensured that the Green Lantern wouldn’t jumpstart a barrage of further DC Comics features.

Instead, “Green Lantern” was left as a one-off, while 2013’s “Man of Steel” began the DC Extended Universe that allowed DC Comics characters to mingle on the big screen. “Green Lantern’s” failure didn’t just overhaul DC’s movie plans, it also inspired countless punchlines in the “Deadpool” movies. In the end, it was influential — just not in the ways its creative team hoped for.

Even though the 2003 “Daredevil” movie did manage to crack $100 million in North America, 20th Century Fox opted to forego making a sequel to that project. Instead, the studios focus shifted to “Elektra,” which let Jennifer Garner’s titular superhero take over as the lead character. This did not go nearly as well as hoped, as the title only made $56.9 million on a $43 million budget. Audiences just didn’t love this live-action iteration of Elektra, certainly not enough to follow her into solo movie territory.

With that, the age of standalone live-action “Daredevil” movies was over. Worse, though, “Elektra’s” failure (along with the previous year’s dud “Catwoman”) influenced Hollywood to give up on women-led superhero fare. In the years that followed “Elektra,” the title was pointed to as a feature that gave studio executives pause on the idea of green-lighting “Wonder Woman,” “Black Widow,” or other lady-centered superhero films. A leaked email from former Marvel head honcho Ike Perlmutter even referenced “Elektra” as a reason why women-led superhero movies were a doomed proposition.

Given that “Green Lantern” and “Punisher: War Zone” tanking didn’t stop male-led superhero features from happening, these arguments are obviously silly. However, “Elektra” was used as a scapegoat to deter a greater level of diversity in the superhero cinema field. This 2005 feature was a flop, no question, but it was a dud because of its own problems, not because of its protagonist’s gender. Thankfully, 2017’s “Wonder Woman” would significantly challenge these perceptions.

In the 2010s, superhero movies were viewed as a recipe for guaranteed box office success. It’s why Sony Pictures, previously home to Happy Madison comedies and the occasional “Spider-Man” film, fully embraced Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and the animated “Spider-Verse” titles in the late 2010s. While movies with Marvel and DC monikers were seen as surefire sources of moolah, superhero films without those labels have often struggled. The highest-grossing superhero movies that aren’t Marvel or DC feature few live-action financial juggernauts. 

Still, the allure of replicating the success of “The Avengers” or “Deadpool” was too great for studios without access to the Marvel or DC libraries to resist. Thus, Lionsgate and Millennium Entertainment teamed up for an R-rated 2019 reboot of “Hellboy.” Everything went tremendously wrong with “Hellboy,” with the film struggling to nail down a unique and engaging tone. It also went haywire at the box office, only grossing $55 million worldwide on a $50 million budget.

In the wake of this flop, superhero films not rooted in Marvel and DC lore became sparse from American studios. “Hellboy” made it clear audiences wouldn’t show up for just any superhero film. The occasional “Bloodshot” or “The Crow” were rarities in the first half of the 2020s. With even newer MCU features like “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” failing to clear $550 million worldwide, the financial allure of these properties is dwindling. “Hellboy” poisoning the well for non-Marvel and DC superhero fare was just a little early to the party.

“The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is changing.” Those oft-repeated words from Dwayne Johnson (via Deadline) signaled how much confidence this movie star had that his work as the titular character in “Black Adam” would impact audiences and forever alter the DC Extended Universe. Over a year before “Black Adam’s” debut, the film’s producers and leading men were crowing about how many big sequels and spin-offs this feature would produce. Black Adam and the Justice Society of America were here to stay in the superhero cinema landscape.

With “Black Adam” being viewed as the lynchpin of the DCEU’s future, there were even whispers that Johnson was trying to make himself a primary architect of this franchise (a claim Johnson has denied). All that hype, though, couldn’t get “Black Adam” to the $400 million mark worldwide. Even Dwayne Johnson’s gotten candid about why “Black Adam” fizzled out, with the title’s losses being estimated to be in the $50-100 million range. This outcome had an instantaneously momentous impact on the DCEU, as the Black Adam character was shelved and James Gunn’s new vision for the DC Universe was quickly prioritized.

For all post-2022 superhero films, though, “Black Adam” signaled that a big movie star wasn’t enough to create a box office hit. Recent comic book movie titles like “Superman” and “Clayface” embraced unknowns as their leads rather than stars like Dwayne Johnson. “Black Adam” did change “the hierarchy of power” in superhero films — just in more chaotic, unexpected ways.