For decades now, the Walt Disney Company has been heralded as one of the leading names in the field of media and entertainment. While the Mouse House has admittedly been in hot water with many of its releases in recent years, more often than not, its hard-earned reputation comes in clutch, serving as a strong and sound safety net. They are so successful that they often lead the charge in new trends and innovations in Hollywood and cinema. However, it is worth acknowledging that not all of Disney’s media strategies have worked in their favor; per the latest article from CNBC, perhaps some studios should stop trying to “copy” Disney, and perhaps fly on their own merit instead.
Marvel’s Superhero Trend
Disney hit gold when it invested in Marvel and its superhero franchise. The comics were widely popular, and Disney’s investment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe turned out to be extremely profitable for them. Starting with the Iron Man franchise featuring Robert Downey Jr., and expanding to include Captain America with Chris Evans and the Avengers, Marvel comics became one of the most beloved stories in pop culture today.
DC Follows Marvel’s Example
On noting the growing market for superhero films, other studios, namely Warner Brothers, followed suit with DC Comics, churning out their version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But rather than being a fun hobby, keeping up with the various franchises has become a full-time job for many fans, and the trend has been suffering; the third Ant-Man movie and fourth Thor movie from Disney as well as Warner Bros.’s The Flash and Black Adam tanking.
Per the latest from CNBC, perhaps it’s time studios like Warner Bros. stopped trying to copy Disney and began learning from the mistakes they’ve made. As the article pointed out, even Disney CEO Bob Iger has said himself that Disney might have gone too far (something he reinforced during the mass layoffs where he fired the Marvel chairman and later shared there were “redundancies” in Marvel’s department.
In fairness, DC’s James Gunn recently acknowledged that there are “too many” superhero movies and shows at the moment. And fans would agree that he can certainly turn that around.
But it will be interesting to see what strategies studios use, Disney included, to find the next new thing.
