Marvel & DC’s 2024 Box Office Bombs: Joker 2 & Kraven’s Failures

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In simple terms, it’s been officially announced that two films from Marvel and DC studios, released widely and backed by big studios, have been among the biggest flops at the box office in 2024. These movies fell far short of expectations in theater earnings.

2024 might see Sony’s “Kraven the Hunter” and Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” as the year’s most significant comic book movie disappointments. Despite their well-known brands and star power, neither film managed to meet financial targets, serving as reminders of the volatility in today’s cinema industry. Their lackluster box office earnings suggest a change in audience preferences, growing exhaustion with superhero stories, and risky spending by studios.

Based on Deadline’s report, the film “Joker: Folie à Deux” experienced a massive loss of $144.25 million, while “Kraven the Hunter” concluded the year for comic book movies with a $71 million deficit. This information is important not just due to these films’ high-profile status, but because it highlights a more profound issue in the superhero genre: audiences are no longer flocking to theaters in large numbers simply because a movie is associated with Marvel or DC.

In contrast to the unprecedented success of the original “Joker” movie, its sequel “Joker: Folie à Deux” marked one of the sharpest declines in box office returns among recent follow-ups. The first “Joker,” a cultural sensation, grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide on a small budget and held the title for the highest-grossing R-rated film until 2024. Warner Bros. decided to innovate by transforming the sequel into a musical with Joaquin Phoenix reprising his Academy Award-winning role and Lady Gaga joining as Harley Quinn. Despite the impressive cast and a budget of $200 million, the movie’s unique style resulted in a D CinemaScore and significant financial losses, suggesting that the public’s interest in grim, auteur-led superhero stories may have its boundaries.

Initially, Kraven the Hunter had modest expectations due to frequent reschedules of its release date, moving from Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in 2023 to October 2023, then Labor Day 2024, and ultimately landing on December 13. Despite these lowered predictions, the movie still fell short of expectations in performance.

Starting with a domestic box office take of just $11 million (the lowest for any Sony Marvel production), it seems that Kraven didn’t exactly land on its feet. To add insult to injury, post-actors’ strike reshoots in 2023 led to a significant increase in production costs, reaching $110 million. The film’s C CinemaScore and unfavorable fan response might have been the last blow in the Sony Spider-Man Universe’s downfall.

2024 was a tough year for some high-profile films, as I discovered while following the box office numbers closely. Movies like “Megalopolis,” “Borderlands,” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” didn’t quite hit their mark, with each one racking up significant losses. Specifically, “Megalopolis” lost a whopping $75.5 million, “Borderlands” had an $80 million loss, and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” suffered a staggering net loss of $119.6 million. It seems that even the biggest productions can face some unexpected challenges at the box office.

Joker 2 & Kraven: Outliers or Trends?

Although the flops of “Joker: Folie à Deux” and “Kraven the Hunter” stand out, these movies should be seen as exceptions rather than indications of a long-term downfall in the genres they represent.

As a diehard fan, I can’t help but notice the undeniable allure of Marvel and DC when they deliver top-notch content. Take Deadpool and Wolverine for instance; these R-rated blockbusters pulverized every box office record set by an R-rated movie, amassing a staggering $1.3 billion globally. This just goes to show that the fascination with (certain) superheroes is far from waning.

So far in 2025, the picture is mixed. 

The box office earnings of Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” surpassed $400 million, an amount that falls short of spectacular but is typical for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This figure is significantly higher than 2023’s “The Marvels,” which holds the unfortunate title as the largest financial failure in Marvel Studios history, costing Disney a reported $237 million.

From the DC perspective, it seems questionable if “Joker 2” was essential given its inception. It appeared to be a defiant gesture towards the very audience who elevated the initial “Joker” into a financial powerhouse worth billions. This production choice follows the studio’s expensive blunder with “The Flash,” released in 2023, which reportedly cost Warner Bros. $155 million despite extensive marketing as a significant multiverse event. In stark contrast, “The Batman” in 2022 showcased that a darker, more realistic superhero film can prosper when done skillfully, amassing over $772 million worldwide and further solidifying the Dark Knight’s position as one of Hollywood’s most lucrative characters.

As we move forward, the significance for DC’s Superman reboot led by James Gunn is extraordinarily high. If this film fails to succeed, it could indicate serious problems ahead for the studio. A misstep like Kraven or Joker 2 might be manageable, but Superman serves as a crucial foundation.

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2025-05-02 17:34