Fox CEO Says Film Industry "Can’t Just Be Based On Caped Crusaders"

So far, 2018 is shaping up to be the year of the superhero. More so than previous years, 2018 seems to be dominated by spandex and superpowers. As of today, the top three films worldwide this year are “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Black Panther,” and “Deadpool 2.” All three of which are superhero films. This week, we get a new installment in the ‘Incredibles’ franchise, and then a month later, we get our third Marvel Studios film “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” Oh yeah, and let’s not forget “Aquaman” coming later this year.

All things considered, you can see why some pundits are concerned about the inevitable superhero bubble bursting. As an industry, studios have been relying so heavily on superhero films that we could be on the cusp of something catastrophic. Or maybe not. Maybe those pundits are wrong.

One person who is warning the industry about the superhero bubble bursting is none other than Fox Chairman and CEO Stacey Snider. The studio head was recently speaking at CineEurope (via Variety), and she used that opportunity to warn about the inevitable superhero slump.

“The studios need to have a bigger appetite for big cinematic, tentpole-type entertainment that isn’t necessarily based on branded material,” Snider said. “When you think about ‘The Greatest Showman’…what we had to hang onto was that the music was incredible and that, if ever there was a person to be ‘The Greatest Showman’ at Christmastime, it was Hugh Jackman. The same with ‘The Martian’ – it was based on a book that was self-published. It was hardly a bestseller.”

She continues by saying that movies “can’t just be based on caped crusaders.” Snider continues to talk about relying too heavily on superheroes will alienate some customers. “If we don’t continue to reach out to the folks that come more than just to see ‘The Avengers,’ we are going to have just the weekend business,” she explained.

But it wasn’t just superheroes that has the CEO taking notice. It’s also social media. She goes on to warn the industry that social media is one of the biggest factors in the success or failure of a project. “[This] is a reality that we have all had to live with for the last several years. I think it is a result of a consumer who is more knowledgeable – they have more information about the quality of the films, they’ve got more choice, so they can opt in or opt out based on word of mouth and other recommendations,” she continued.

Now, there will be those that say, “But wait a minute! Doesn’t Fox rely pretty heavily on superhero films?” Yes, they do. But Snider’s response to that is how audiences crave something different. And that’s the key.

“For the studios that expect that more of the same will always bring a result, there is folly in that. We want to continue, for example, with our ‘X-Men’ movies and our ‘Deadpool’ movies, but at the same time we have great success with a movie like ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ or ‘The Greatest Showman,’ where we are very mindful of speaking to this global audience, but not doing it in a way that in the past has homogenized all of the product,” Snider said. “Where things fall off the cliff is when that bright consumer says, ‘I have seen this movie.’”

With Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. (as well as Fox themselves) moving full steam ahead with superhero films, it doesn’t look like the bubble is bursting anytime soon.