Critics on the sidelines have been predicting it since the boom began in the 2000s, and the hour may have arrived. The comic book movie/superhero bubble could finally be approaching a pop, but the pin is not what anyone expected.
The performance of a handful of movies without capes in the last year has those critics, and others, standing at attention. Moreover, the one that’s got all of them gossiping is Project Hail Mary. The Ryan Gosling-starring space adventure is a big hit financially, and as it wins more and more praise, it is driving many to think the cultural winds are finally shifting in the next direction.
Superman and the current crop of MCU releases pale in comparison, even though the latter often depicts characters without powers rising to the occasion, as seen in Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World. In the first instance, the Man of Steel may be godlike in his abilities, but James Gunn did a lot to humanize him. Sadly, that conscious effort isn’t paying off the way it used to.
The receipts look grim when you compare Gunn’s Superman to Project Hail Mary. Amazon MGM's cosmic gamble achieved an unexpected liftoff and broke the stratosphere, hauling in half a billion dollars within a few weeks. It's done so well that its theatrical run has been extended and is now upwards of $720 million at the box office. The chunk of that coming in from IMAX theaters is also an exceptional 20 percent of the gross.
Superman crawled to $618 million to become one of the top-grossing superhero films of last year, surpassing most of Marvel’s releases. However, there are reports mitigating its success and questioning its profitability. It also trailed behind Man of Steel from 12 years prior, whether or not you adjust for inflation and 2013 ticket prices.
Staying in the present, other competing films left Superman in the dust in 2025. The biggest were Zootopia 2, A Minecraft Movie, and F1, which is the most salient example. F1 was out during Superman’s release window and became a phenomenon. At first, no one was paying much mind to the little Apple film about racing, but word of mouth did a lot of good keeping it afloat. It held on in theaters through the summer and grossed over $633 million.
Like Project Hail Mary, F1 demonstrated that audience attention was moving to new genres for their high-octane, adrenaline boost. Marvel is seeing the signs of the times amidst slashing staff and the shrinking of their vaunted, once-unbeatable slate.
Marvel concentrated on two series, Daredevil: Born Again and Wonder Man on Disney+, and only two major tentpoles this year: Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. After that, the focus is Secret Wars, which will, in all likelihood, reinvent the MCU as we came to know it – if there even is one in a few years.
Those films might hit the billion-dollar mark that Marvel got comfortable with a decade ago. But given the changing landscape, one has to wonder if the glory days are in the rearview and fading fast.
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