As a director who helmed some of the best-known superhero movies, DC’s ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, Christopher Nolan said he was thankful for the genre’s effect on the entertainment industry.
Talking to The New York Times, the director specifically mentioned how Marvel movies were a big deal during the pandemic, saying:
“Coming out of COVID, you say, ‘Thank God for Marvel movies.’”
In that chat, Nolan pointed out how important Robert Downey Jr. was for making Marvel movies a hit. He thinks casting Downey Jr. as Iron Man was a game-changer for movies everywhere:
“I think Jon Favreau casting Robert as Tony Stark is one of the most significant and consequential casting decisions in Hollywood history. It wound up defining our industry.”
The Studio’s Box Office Success And Fall
Marvel killed it at the box office during the pandemic. 2021 movies like ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ almost made $2 billion. Other big hits from the same year included ‘Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings,’ ‘Eternals,’ and ‘Black Widow,’ bringing $432.2 million, $401.7 million, and $379.7 million, respectively.
The following year, ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ nearly hit the $1 billion mark, while ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ and ‘Thor: Love And Thunder’ also made a splash worldwide. By 2023, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ was leading the pack with $845.4 million, marking it Marvel’s most successful film of the year.
But not every Marvel movie hit the jackpot. ‘The Marvels’ didn’t do as well as expected, fueling the ongoing criticism of superhero films. On the other hand, the first trailer from ‘Deadpool 3’ broke the internet with over 255 million views during the Super Bowl, renewing the interest in the genre.
