In a world where being “just a superhero movie” is no longer unique, the Marvel/DC films are standing out by offering both superhero tropes and high-quality genre appropriations that can often surpass the genuine article ( Birds of Prey > The Gentlemen).Based on the Valiant Comics character of the same name Bloodshot stars Vin Diesel as Marine Ray Garrison. Meanwhile, the likes of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Solo, The Mummy and, yes, Bloodshot, have comparatively been crafted as generic superhero origin stories. Marvel and DC have made a point to diversify in terms of genre, with (for example) Captain America: The Winter Soldier being a 1970’s spy flick or Wonder Woman being a World War I melodrama. Part of this discrepancy is rooted in the same reason why non-comic book tentpole action movies are struggling against the MCU/DC Films variety. The MCU’s popularity couldn’t save non-MCU titles like Fantastic Four or Dark Phoenix. It wasn’t until just three years ago that a non-Batman/Superman DC flick had earned more than Constantine ($231 million in 2005). and even those brands aren’t bulletproof. Since then, most of the comic book superhero movies, and certainly most of the comic book superhero hits, have been from either Marvel (MCU or otherwise) or DC. The Mark Millar adaptation was sold as an R-rated Roger Moore 007 movie (which it somewhat was) and earned a robust $428 million on an $81 million budget in early 2015. The last genuinely successful “not a DC or Marvel” comic book franchise was arguably Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman’s Kingsman: The Secret Service. The 2014 reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles scored ($491 million on a $125 million budget), but A) that was a very popular property and B) that IP is better known for its cartoons than its comic books. All due respect, the mostly standalone Bloodshot was no Iron Man or The Conjuring. Point being, if audiences didn’t care about the characters contained within the Valiant universe, including ideally at least one already-successful feature film as a backdoor pilot, merely selling the notion of a Valiant cinematic universe wasn't going to move the needle. Leigh Whannell’s offering was a low-budget, R-rated horror movie that just happened to offer a reinvention of a well-known piece of horror IP. The Invisible Man, which was absolutely a hit (rave reviews, scorching buzz and $124.5 million worldwide on a $9 million budget) before theaters closed, was the opposite approach. Universal’s “Dark Universe” was a one-and-done attempt, with Tom Cruise’s surprisingly lousy The Mummy emphasizing world-building and mythology over character and standalone entertainment value. You don’t have to see Ant-Man and the Wasp to enjoy Black Panther. That’s technically how Marvel mostly does it too. The post- Suicide Squad movies have been mostly standalone, but still mostly set within the realm of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. DC Films, which has some of the most famous fictional characters in the world, initially struggled with their cinematic universe. Even the Star Wars brand couldn’t make Solo into a hit, while a $529 million-grossing Godzilla and a $569 million-grossing Kong: Skull Island couldn’t make Godzilla: King of the Monsters ($385 million) into a hit. In contrast, Sony’s attempt to sell The Dark Tower as part of a Stephen King universe arguably caused the film to open below its already mediocre tracking. Meanwhile, the Transformers cinematic universe was merely threatened.
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