For the first time since 2011, no comic book film made more than $700 million worldwide in a single year. At $597 million, Superman performed admirably. At $415 million, Captain America: Brave New World debuted. These aren’t failures by any traditional standards; they’re just not the billion-dollar hits that the genre consistently generated for more than ten years. Studios are still trying to figure out exactly what to do about the shift in the machinery.
A whole generation of viewers were taught by the Marvel Cinematic Universe to anticipate connected storytelling presented on a regular schedule—many movies and television series each year, all contributing to a greater storyline that rewarded consistent attention. Before it failed, that model performed incredibly well. The amount of content eroded the immediacy that made each release feel crucial, and audiences became weary of the homework needed to keep up with an ever-expanding legend. Kevin Feige’s plan to reduce Marvel Studios to one or three movies and one television program annually is not a retreat from ambition, but rather an admission of that weariness.
Since there isn’t a straightforward successor franchise, what’s filling the void is more intriguing. Instead of being a novelty, video game adaptations are becoming a very dependable category. Super Mario Bros. Even industry insiders, who had grown accustomed to video game movies underperforming for decades, were taken aback by the film’s $1.3 billion gross. Super Mario Galaxy, a sequel that will be released in April 2026, is a wager by the company that its recognizable IP and inherent nostalgia will be able to accomplish what creative superhero material is finding more and more difficult to produce on its own.
The horror genre has created its own surprises, and they are altogether different. The conventional wisdom about what moviegoers truly desire from a theatrical experience has been challenged by low-budget, high-concept original films that have exceeded expectations.
With a production budget that would hardly cover craft services on a Marvel tentpole, A24’s Backrooms, which was based on an internet-born liminal space notion that began as a creepypasta, made $221 million worldwide. Both Sinners and Obsession made more than $200 million at home. These are not plays based on franchises. These are unique ideas that gained traction through viral marketing and word-of-mouth rather than ten years of brand development.
It’s difficult to miss the trend here: the movies that are currently doing well have very nothing in common other than not attempting to create the next connected universe. Adaptations of video games rely on decades of popularity. Because Backrooms is unique and doesn’t require a sequel, viral horror relies on internet culture and scarcity. Legacy sequels, such as the forthcoming Toy Story 5, rely on the audience’s innate allegiance, which eliminates the need to explain a multi-film narrative.
According to projections, the worldwide box office might grow by 5% from 2025 to $35 billion in 2026. That is a significant amount of optimism. However, it’s encouraging because the money isn’t concentrated in a single dominant universe, but rather is spread across really diverse types of movies. Marvel and DC have not vanished, and Avengers: Doomsday and Supergirl continue to be important tentpoles. They are no longer thought to be the only games in town.
