Fans have been saying the superhero genre is in decline for years, but we finally have the figures to prove it. The last decade saw the Marvel Cinematic Universe sharply rise in popularity, making comic books, muscular actors wearing ridiculous spandex, and underwhelming villains cool with even the most casual of moviegoers. While the genre has been in decline for some years, with studios focusing more on profits over good storytelling, many thought 2024 would begin the genre’s comeback. While Deadpool & Wolverine may have made all the money in the world at the box office, not even that was safe from critics.
@CultureCrave on X (formerly Twitter) has compiled the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ scores for each of this year’s big comic book movies. Unsurprisingly, Deadpool & Wolverine was the highest rated of 2024’s bunch. But, this might have been the worst year for superhero movies ever. None of 2024’s superhero films was certified fresh on the popular review aggregate site, except for the Deadpool sequel. With Marvel Studios pulling back on 2024’s release window, only six major comic book movies were released this year, and almost all of them were critical flops.
Deadpool & Wolverine “boasted” a 78% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the best comic book movie of the year. But there is a large jump down to second place. Venom: The Last Dance holds a 41% score with critics. If you thought that was bad, wait until you see the final four films. Joker: Folie à Deux sits in third with 31%., while the completely unnecessary The Crow remake is in fourth with 22%. The recently released Kraven the Hunter is in fifth at 15%. And, it should surprise absolutely no one who’s seen it (and you absolutely should watch it), that Madame Web is the worst comic book movie of the year with an 11% rating.
Why Are 2024’s Comic Book Movies So Bad?

When the unstoppable quipping force of Ryan Reynolds can’t save the genre, you know something’s wrong. 2024 has been an abysmal year for superhero movies (if the data above didn’t already tell you that). There are a number of reasons why this year has been particularly bad. With the MCU going on a brief hiatus in early 2024, Sony’s Spider-Man Villain-verse has dominated theaters this year. But, it’s a franchise that no one actually asked for. The franchise is built off the back of its box office results, rather than critical reception. Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter are desperately cobbled together stories, and, unsurprisingly, were torn apart by audiences and critics. Venom: The Last Dance gained some fans and decent reviews, but it is far from the genre’s best.

Related

‎This Timeless DC Classic Created the Template for MCU Movies, According to Kevin Feige

Why is the MCU so succesful? Credit goes to a ‘Superman: The Movie,’ according to Kevin Feige.

The outlier of this year’s slate was Joker: Folie à Deux. Despite the return of a fan-favorite character, and coming off the back of one of the most lauded comic book movies in recent years, Folie à Deux, was loathed by past fans. Was it because director Todd Phillips made it a musical? Or, was it just boring? We’ll let you be the judge of that.

Your changes have been saved

A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

Release Date

July 26, 2024

Runtime

127 Minutes

Cast

Ryan Reynolds
, Hugh Jackman
, Emma Corrin
, Morena Baccarin
, Rob Delaney
, Leslie Uggams
, Karan Soni
, Matthew Macfadyen
, Brianna Hildebrand
, Shioli Kutsuna
, Stefan Kapicic
, Lewis Tan
, Randal Reeder
, Jennifer Garner
, Aaron Stanford
, Billy Clements
, Ollie Palmer
, Chris Hemsworth
, Rob McElhenney

Expand