Top 12 Film Industry Stories of 2012: #2

The Avengers Initiative Triumphs

By David Mumpower

January 9, 2013

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In last year’s Top Film Industry Stories, we chronicled the Superhero Summer. The key players were Thor and Captain America, two characters that were largely unfamiliar to average consumers. At the time, we expressed admiration for Marvel’s ability to popularize new superheroes. Stating the obvious, Marvel was only getting warmed up.

The Avengers as a movie concept has been a source of curiosity for several years now. Prior to Iron Man’s debut in 2008, Marvel in combination with Paramount Pictures, the caretaker of the property at the time, announced the intention to build to a superhero combination film. Iron Man was the first triumphant step to this goal.

As strange as the statement sounds only four years later, Iron Man was far from a slam-dunk as a movie concept. The project had languished for over a decade, largely because the actor attached, Tom Cruise, never prioritized it. In a strange twist of fate, right as Cruise’s career collapsed, Marvel settled upon the perfect actor, Robert Downey Jr.

Just as was the case with Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, Downey seemed destined to portray Tony Stark. Audiences agreed, ardently supporting the project. Iron Man debuted to a massive $102 million, one of the top ten opening weekends of all time up to that point. It went on to gross $318.3 million domestically with a grand total of $585.2 million worldwide. Iron Man as a brand was established. Iron Man 2 reinforced this thought process as the sequel accrued another $624 million worldwide. People love Robert Downey Jr. as Robert Stark.




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The problem in making an Avengers movie is that at least half a dozen Marvel superheroes need to be featured in it. Ergo, people would spend the entire movie wondering who that long-haired gentleman with the hammer was unless he would be given an introduction. A bold tactic had to be employed.

Marvel Studios and their friends at Paramount Pictures had previously announced the superhero summer in anticipation of this. During this period, they would release Thor and Captain America movies. Prior to release, both of these new properties had their fair share of critics. Thor is a muscular demigod who flies thanks to a hammer. That’s…different. And Captain America is defined as jingoistic by the character’s name alone. How receptive would worldwide audiences be to such a superhero, particularly given recent political events?

Yes, each of these titles seemed like uncertain propositions yet both movies exceeded expectations. Thor finished with global revenue of $449.3 million while Captain America managed $368.6 million. They were two of the top 17 performers of 2011. Even better, they finished third and fifth on the list of new properties debuting in 2011. Yes, a dozen of the top 17 were sequels (or semi-sequels) to existing franchises. In terms of new characters, Thor and Captain America did quite well.

Despite the Superhero Summer being a success, there was still cause for concern as only three of the intended six superheroes had been established. Among those, the average opening weekend was $90 million, and that calculation counts Iron Man movies twice. Thor and Captain America both fell in the $65 million range. A planned fourth character, The Hulk, had been featured in two movies. The more popular of them earned a modest $263.4 million worldwide. What became clear from 2008 to 2011 is that people loved Iron Man. They were somewhere between dubious and on the fence about the other Avengers.


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