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- Female Superhero Movies Are Always Held to a Higher Standard
- The Marvels Got Far More Bad Press Than Joker 2
- Female-Led Superhero Projects Are Met With Open Hostility
As a woman who has grown up adoring superheroes and seeing myself represented (or not) in these stories, I find it disheartening to see how female-led projects are met with such open hostility and skepticism. It’s as if some fans believe that only male characters can carry a compelling narrative, or that women are somehow less capable of embodying the strength and bravery we associate with superheroes.
On October 6th, following the release of “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the film faced a dismal weekend at the box office and received poor audience feedback. An article by The Hollywood Reporter praised director Francis Ford Coppola’s appreciation for the sequel, with the caption on their X account reading, “Hang in there, Todd Phillips.” This prompted criticism, especially considering how they had previously covered the underperformance of “The Marvels” in 2023. Specifically, an article titled “Why ‘Marvels’ Director Nia DaCosta Bailed on the Cast-and-Crew Screening” was criticized for placing all the blame on DaCosta and being accused of distorting the truth about the film’s failure. This incident underscores the double standard often applied to women of color versus white male directors in Hollywood.
It’s worth noting that there’s a noticeable disparity in how movies featuring female superheroes are evaluated compared to their male counterparts. For instance, while The Marvels underperformed overall, it had a stronger opening weekend than Joker: Folie à Deux; yet, the media coverage of The Marvels was predominantly negative, whereas Joker 2 was often viewed as an isolated event. This apparent double standard in the discourse surrounding female-led superhero movies, regrettably, reflects a sexist bias that has been present since the genre’s early days. In essence, when a movie like Morbius, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, or even Joker: Folie à Deux fails, it’s typically attributed to various factors. However, when films such as The Marvels, Birds of Prey, or Madame Web falter, the blame is frequently placed solely on the gender of the lead character.
Female Superhero Movies Are Always Held to a Higher Standard
In 2017, following a wait of 76 years, Wonder Woman made her long-awaited solo appearance on the big screen in Patty Jenkins’s film “Wonder Woman.” Although she is part of DC Comics’ Trinity with Superman and Batman, it took her much longer to get her own movie. By the time Wonder Woman’s solo flick came out, both Superman and Batman had multiple films under their belts. Intriguingly, even less famous DC characters like Swamp Thing, Constantine, and Green Lantern got their chance on the silver screen before Wonder Woman. On the other hand, it wasn’t until their 20th film, “Ant-Man and The Wasp,” that the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced a female hero in its title. It took another 11 years for the MCU to produce its inaugural female-led solo movie, “Captain Marvel.
For a considerable time, the underperformance at the box office and critical reception of films featuring female superheroes such as Supergirl, Catwoman, and Elektra were frequently cited to prevent the production of Wonder Woman or Black Widow movies. The assumption was that these films failed due to disinterest in female-led superheroes rather than poor film quality. Conversely, subpar films centered on male superheroes never halted the superhero genre or received blame for their financial disappointments at the box office. Movies like Batman & Robin, The Spirit, and Jonah Hex did not hinder other successful male-led superhero movies such as The Flash and Green Lantern from being made.
This is how it goes, as male-led superhero movies aren’t forced to carry the weight of the genre on their shoulders as their female-led counterparts are. Three Punisher movies were made and bombed before Wonder Woman got her solo film. Madame Web was bad, but it is not like Morbius is any better. Moreover, individuals on the internet tried to blame Madame Web for being bad because it was about a group of women, but the same reasoning isn’t used for box office and critical disappointments like Joker 2, 2019’s Hellboy, or The Flash.
The expectations for movies like this one, such as Birds of Prey, are significantly higher. Despite earning $33 million in its debut weekend when it hit theaters on February 7, 2020, some critics labeled it a disappointment or failure. This was because, initially, it had the lowest-grossing opening weekend among DCEU films (although it has since surpassed both Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom). However, it’s important to remember that Birds of Prey could never have opened to the same numbers as films like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, or Shazam!, which were aimed at a broader audience and had a lower rating (PG-13), thus setting different standards.
To elaborate, the movie “Birds of Prey” showed comparable results to the R-rated comic book adaptation, “Kingsman: The Secret Service.” The latter premiered on February 12, 2015, and made $36 million during its opening weekend, surpassing “Birds of Prey” by three million dollars. Both films had similar production budgets; “Kingsman” cost $81 million while “Birds of Prey” was made for $84 million. “Kingsman” did outperform “Birds of Prey,” but it stayed in theaters longer due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing a premature end to the box office run for “Birds of Prey.” Despite this, “Kingsman” is often labeled as a box office hit and even spawned a franchise. However, “Birds of Prey,” which grossed $205 million in just six weeks, is incorrectly categorized as a box office flop.
The Marvels Got Far More Bad Press Than Joker 2
It’s worth pointing out that female-led superhero films, like The Marvels, are often subjected to a detailed assessment when it comes to their box office performance by certain people. This observation applies especially when comparing it with movies like Joker 2. Both were follow-ups to 2019 films that accumulated over $1 billion globally. However, some may argue that Captain Marvel was less popular than Joker. It’s important to note that while Joker did earn 11 Academy Award nominations, it would be misleading to claim that no one appreciated Captain Marvel. In reality, Captain Marvel grossed $426 million domestically and $1.13 billion worldwide, surpassing the earnings of Joker, which still managed to collect $335 million domestically and $1.07 billion worldwide.
When it comes to their follow-ups, both failed to meet expectations and can be considered flops, but The Marvels managed to outperform. The Marvels opened with $46 million, surpassing Joker: Folie à Deux’s $37.8 million domestic opening weekend. Moreover, the audience response towards The Marvels was more positive, as it received a B CinemaScore, which was disappointing for an MCU film at the time but still superior to Joker 2’s D rating. This D rating for Joker 2 made it the lowest-rated movie based on a comic book in CinemaScore history, even worse than Madame Web, which had a C+ score earlier this year.
As a die-hard cinema enthusiast, I’d like to share my perspective on the contrasting reactions to two recent blockbusters: while the underperformance of “Joker 2” at the box office might spark some commentary, it won’t generate the same level of buzz as “The Marvels.” The alleged flop of “The Marvels” within the MCU has unfortunately been misconstrued by some to support the debunked notion that “go woke, go broke.” This argument overlooks the staggering $1 billion earned by “Captain Marvel.
It’s particularly disheartening that director Todd Phillips might escape the same level of criticism or controversy as female directors, despite this. A post by Beyond Fest about Phillips and his upcoming film, Joker 2, was met with praise as being “punk rock”, regardless of its quality. In contrast, directors like Nia DaCosta (The Marvels), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman 1984), Lexi Alexander (Punisher: War Zone), and Chloé Zhao (Eternals) – who won the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture the previous year for Nomadland – have not received the same level of artistic appreciation. It will be revealing to see if Phillips is given another film soon after Joker 2, while directors such as Zhao, Jenkins, and Cathy Yan (Birds of Prey) have yet to release a new movie since their superhero entries.
Female-Led Superhero Projects Are Met With Open Hostility
In contrast to superhero projects starring male leads, some sections of the fanbase show more skepticism and hostility towards series or films featuring female leads, such as the recently launched Disney+ MCU shows like “Moon Knight,” “Ms. Marvel,” and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” in 2022. Interestingly, while they looked forward to “Moon Knight,” it turned out to be the least satisfying of the three for some viewers, despite the backlash faced by “Ms. Marvel” and “She-Hulk” with comments like “who asked for this.
2024 saw Marvel Studios debuting projects centered around anti-heroes and villains like Echo and Agatha All Along on Disney+, as well as Deadpool & Wolverine in cinemas. The latter was a massive box office success and loved by fans, whereas Echo and Agatha All Along received more backlash. Both shows were questioned with “Who asked for this spin-off?”, but unlike them, the spin-off of The Batman, The Penguin, which focused on a less prominent Batman villain than usual, wasn’t faced with the same criticism. It’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean Echo or Agatha All Along is superior to The Penguin, but rather that the former received more leeway. Even though Agatha All Along did exceptionally well on Disney+, it hasn’t garnered the same level of recognition.
These movies such as Captain Marvel, Eternals, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law have encountered significant criticism and review bombing, which appears to stem from misogyny, a phenomenon not observed with films like Thor: Love and Thunder or Doctor Strange. For every cinematic flop like The Marvels or Madame Web, there are movies like Hellboy (2019), The Crow (2024), The Flash, Green Lantern, Morbius, Dark Phoenix, and now Joker 2. Despite their box office performance, the former films may shoulder more blame for the genre than the rest, and this is primarily due to the gender of their main characters.
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2024-10-09 04:02