The superhero genre is one of the most successful in the movie industry’s history. It has been dominated by a small number of franchises, which include Spider-Man, Batman, Captain America, Ironman and Superman. As measured by total U.S box office receipts of the top 20 superhero movies, 14 are based on one or more of these characters.
The list of the top 20 superhero movies, according to Box Office Mojo:
Rank                                    Studio      Lifetime Gross      Year of Releases
1 Marvel’s The Avengers                   BV         $623,357,910       2012
2 The Dark Knight                        WB        $534,858,444       2008
3 Avengers: Age of Ultron                  BV         $459,005,868      2015
4 The Dark Knight Rises                   WB         $448,139,099       2012
5 Iron Man 3 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â BV Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $409,013,994 Â Â Â Â Â Â 2013
6 Captain America: Civil War               BV         $408,084,349      2016
7 Spider-Man                             Sony        $403,706,375       2002
8 Spider-Man 2                           Sony        $373,585,825       2004
9 Deadpool                               Fox         $363,070,709       2016
10 Spider-Man 3                          Sony       $336,530,303       2007
11 Guardians of the Galaxy                 BV         $333,176,600       2014
12 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice     WB        $330,360,194       2016
13 Suicide Squad                          WB        $325,100,054       2016
14 Iron Man                               Par.        $318,412,101       2008
15 Iron Man 2 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Par. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $312,433,331 Â Â Â Â Â Â 2010
16 Man of Steel                            WB        $291,045,518       2013
17 The Amazing Spider-Man                Sony       $262,030,663      2012
18 The Incredibles                         BV         $261,441,092      2004
19 Captain America: The Winter Soldier      BV         $259,766,572      2014
20 Batman                                WB         $251,188,924      1989
Batman and Spider-Man in particular show how long-lived movies based one character can be. The first Batman movie in the list was released in 1989 and the most recent in 2016. The first Spider-Man movie on the list was released in 2012.
One other notable fact is that movies that involve the same set of superheros also dominate the list of the top 50 superheros. Eight of the films in the genre are in the numbers 21 to 50 positions based on U.S. gross.
Buena Vista is part of Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and shows the genius of the Disney purchase of Marvel Entertainment in 2009. Buena Vista films represent seven of the top 20 movies. And, DC Comics has been part of Time Warner Inc.’s (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. studio since 1968. The value of the purchase shows up on the top 20 list as well. Six of the films on the list were produced by Warner Bros., and all but two are part of the Batman franchise.
In a sign of how much studios can milk these franchises, a new Batman movie is due in 2018. Spider-Man: Homecoming is due out in 2019.
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