SPIDER-MAN Is World's Most Profitable Superhero (And It's Not Even Close)
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can, spins a web, any size, catches thieves just like flies. Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man! THR has revealed details about Marvel & DC's licensing revenue & with that also revealed that Spider-Man is the most profitable superhero in the world!
It's no secret that the Disney-owned Marvel Studios and the Warner Bros-owned DC Comics have essentially been at war these past few years as they've both managed to transform themselves into billion-dollar film juggernauts. Between 2015 and 2020, Marvel has eleven films set to arrive, not including any Sony-produced Spider-Man films or Fox-produced X-Men films, while DC has ten films in the works, not including potential solo films for Superman or Batman.
A majority of the recent focus has been placed on their film futures, but The Hollywood Reporter has provided details about a key financial underpin of the war: licensing revenue. Even though it may not sound flashy, licensing revenue is just as important, if not more important, than their film revenue. However, just like the current status of their film competition, this is another aspect where Marvel reigns supreme, thanks mostly to their most popular hero (and oddly enough one of the film properties they don't own), everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
Last year, Marvel sold approximately $1.3B worth of Spider-Man products, which is approximately four times the $325M they made from the Avengers. Meanwhile, their competition over at DC has struggled to keep up. Unsurprisingly, their most popular property was Batman, who brought in a respectable $494M, while their second most popular hero, Superman, brought it about $277M.
Check out the graphs below to get a better grasp of Spider-Man's worldwide popularity as well as Marvel's current domination over DC in licensing:
Pretty impressive numbers for Spidey.. what do you guys think? Hypothetically speaking, if Marvel reaquired Spidey's film rights, could they be even more powerful and successful than they currently are? Sound off with your thoughts below!