The Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken the world by storm, with its 12 films taking in a stunning $9,085m at an average of $757m per firm to be the #1 franchise of all time - in terms of total box office in the world. The DCEU is (still) only 1 film old, with a decent $668m from Man of Steel. And while the DCEU may never catch the MCU in total box office, they will likely end up with a greater average per film. Here are 5 reasons* why:
* Note, this is all assuming the DCEU films are good. Otherwise, all bets are off.
1. The MCU was slow off the mark
Prior to 2008, Comic book movies had largely run out of steam - critically and financially. 2008's Iron Man changed that with a (at the time) amazing $585m from a (again, at the time) B-grade character, with its sequel Iron Man 2 doing about on par with $623m. Both of these lower than Man of Steel. The other three films prior to The Avengers didn't do nearly as well, ranging from The Incredible Hulk's $263m to Thor's $449m.
The MCU had to open its own door - and it did that in spectacular fashion with 2012's The Avengers earning a stunning $1,519m, which was good enough to become the #3 movie of all time (which it has since slipped to #5). Now the door was wide open, and its subsequent films all did substantially better than the films prior to The Avengers.
All the DCEU has to do now is simply walk through the door. Superhero films are the biggest thing going around, and it is hard to see any film getting much less than say $500m. So the early MCU films will continually drag down the average box office films of the MCU
2. China and 3D
China is insatiable at the moment. Films like Fast & Furious 7 and Jurassic World have done amazingly well globally because of the growing market in China. DCEU films will now get a big boost from China going forward as the global market changes. One billion dollar films are getting more and more common.
3D, though not as popular as it good be, is still adding value to the box office, and will continue to so.
(not intended to be racist?)
3. The DCEU is shiny and new
Audiences have responded to Marvel's style of film making, and I'm one of them. I'm a huge fan of the humour and character based films of the MCU.
But the DCEU, rightly, are taking a different approach. Some call it 'serious', but I've long rejected the notion that something can't be humorous and serious at the same time (I come from the Joss Whedon school where humour adds to the inevitable devastation). So let's just call the DCEU different - in tone, in style and texture. Audiences will be attracted to this and new characters (especially ones they are not familiar). Meanwhile Marvel's big characters Iron Man and Captain America have appeared in multiple films, and characters begin to lose impact.
4. The DCEU are starting out Big
While Marvel started with individual films before hitting it big with The Avengers. The DCEU are going all in, announcing three event films in its slate including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League - Part 1 and Justice League - Part 2. This will likely give the solo films a big boost.
5. BECAUSE OF BATMAN!!!
In cinematic history, no film character has had the impact of Batman.
Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises all broke many box office records at the time (with Batman Begins suffering from the Batman & Robin stink).
And although Iron Man, Spider-Man and more recently Captain America are giving the Caped Crusade a run for its money - people (particularly Americans) can't get enough of Batman.
Now of course, if the Ben Affleck Batman is ill-received, that could change the whole story.
The MCU have over an $8 billion head start, it is hard to see when the DCEU will catch that number. In the mean time though, we'll all argue over who is more successful. But in the end, it doesn't really matter - we all get to enjoy the fruits of the labour.