We have all heard of superhero fatigue.
Fatigue, in the entertainment industry, refers to "a concept created to explain why audiences are suddenly becoming bored with the numerous films and television series of the genre," according to Luca Fornoni, a journalist for Florida International University (CaplinNews). For superhero content, this means people are sick of the high volume of superhero genre movies and shows released within a year.
Industry analysts believe this fatigue may be real, based on Marvel Studios' plans to release no more than three films and two television series in a year according to Disney CEO Bob Iger (GamesRadar: Toal Film).
However, many fans on social media believe that superhero fatigue does not exist.
The issue is the quality of the movies.
In 2023, movies like Marvel Studios' The Marvels and DC Studios' Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom were met with poor reviews and lackluster box office gross.
However, there were a few exceptions to this, like Sony's Marvel animated movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse and the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, which received positive reviews and high numbers at the box office.
There is one other glaring example seen now in 2024 that quality is an issue rather than overall fatigue: The re-release of the original Sony Studios' Spider-Man trilogy in theaters for the Columbia Pictures 100th anniversary celebration.
The celebration also features re-releases of the Sony Studios' The Amazing Spider-Man movies and Marvel Studios' Spider-Man trilogy.
In April 2024, the first movie began playing in theaters for one week only; each week until the first week of June, a movie would be released in order of their release through the years.
From just the first movie on April 15, 2024, the first Spider-Man movie, directed by Sam Raimi, grossed $681,364 on the first day, with tickets being $5, and was released in 466 movie theaters nationwide (Collider).
In addition to high numbers at the box office, the movie also trended on social media with fans revisiting the film and praising it for its practical visuals, like the costumes, and unique story.
For the week leading to the next movie, users continued to highlight their favorite scenes and express what they loved most about the film.
Week after week, fans showed up to see these movies with fresh excitement.
Afterward, they continued to share their enjoyment over social media for each movie that has been released so far.
No fatigue has become evident for these.
While a couple of the re-released films received lukewarm reviews when they first came out, fans rescinded some of their earlier thoughts out of appreciation for the risks the movies took compared to the boring and safe new films.
Studios may also be getting the hint that this "fatigue" is not real and the issue is quality.
During the company's fiscal Q2 earnings call, Igar stated that Marvel Studios would focus more on the quality of movies rather than quantity (GamesRadar: Toal Film).
For 2024, Marvel Studios plans to only release one superhero film, Deadpool & Wolverine, on July 26, 2024.
For DC Studios this year, upcoming plans mostly focus on supervillain stories, with the release of the film Joker: Folie à Deux in October and the limited series The Penguin releasing in the Fall of 2024 on Max.
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