The highest-grossing DC movies of all time may have achieved financial success, but rewatching them still highlights a handful of harsh realities. Since long before the beginning of the DCEU’s movie timeline, there have been film adaptations of the characters and stories of DC Comics. Bringing iconic heroes and villains to life comes with its challenges, but often its rewards, too. With the superhero genre coming to dominate the box office in the 21st Century so far, it would seem that making DC-inspired movies should be a formula for success.
Compared to other superhero franchises, the movies of the DCEU struggled to find their footing overall. Regardless, many of the franchise’s films were able to perform well at the box office, easing financial concerns for DC Studios. Throughout DC’s history of movies, there have been many high-grossing movies, although rewatching each one in turn highlights several issues with the franchise and its many films.
When reviewing the list of DC’s highest-grossing movies, it becomes immediately apparent that there are many Batman movies among them. In fact, a disproportionate number of DC’s highest earners feature either the Caped Crusader himself or some of his supporting characters, such as the Joker or Harley Quinn. This seemingly lends credence to a common criticism of DC movies: that they rely far too heavily on the popularity of Batman.
Of DC’s 10 highest-grossing titles, five of them feature Batman as a main character. Three others either see Batman appear in a cameo or follow a supporting character from the Dark Knight’s mythos, or a combination of the two. Though it’s clear that Batman is DC’s most bankable hero, it also indicates a wider problem, as it seems that the studio will likely continue to adapt Batman stories to the big screen above all else in the interest of playing it safe.
As well as leaning heavily on Batman to bolster its success, there’s a clear lack of innovation in the most successful DC movies. Every entry into the top 10 makes use of either an origin story or an adaptation of an established comic book narrative, and aside from minor stylistic tweaks, most of them are fairly straightforward depictions of their characters. The most notable exceptions are Joker and The Dark Knight, two of DC’s most accomplished movies of all time.
DC’s apparent desire to stick with safe and borderline predictable origin stories is a relatively common thread throughout its most successful titles. However, in making such prolific use of origin stories and straightforward adaptations, DC’s biggest movies carry with them an air of the familiar, retreating ground previously walked by the comic book movies of yesteryear. As such, it appears that there’s a distinct lack of originality in DC’s best-earning movies.
The DCEU is well-represented among the 10 highest-grossing DC movies in history, with six films from the franchise featuring as particularly high earners. However, there’s one clear problem with the movies from the franchise that appear on the list – they’re all early appearances of their respective characters. In fact, none of the DCEU’s direct sequels broke the top 10.
Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Suicide Squad all received direct sequels within the franchise, though none of their respective follow-ups were able to out-earn their predecessors. Man of Steel’s semi-sequel, Batman v Superman, ranks highly but isn’t technically a direct follow-up, as its story was specifically written to introduce Batman into the franchise. It seems that none of the DCEU’s sequels were able to capitalize on the success of their characters’ first outings and that one of the biggest trends in the franchise’s success was in introducing new characters to the DCEU.
It’s no secret that the DCEU had a major villain problem, but the franchise’s less-exciting antagonists didn’t seem to hurt the success of their movies too much. In fact, many of DC’s highest-grossing movies share the common criticism of poorly-written or disposable villains, marking a bizarre trend in the franchise’s success. Despite the interesting implications this has on the genre in general, it’s something that becomes all too clear when rewatching DC’s best-earning movies.
The likes of Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Batman v Superman, JusticeLeague, and even The Dark Knight Rises all received criticism for their use of their respective antagonists. Each movie featured at least one villain who was considered badly-written or poorly executed, as well as unnecessary supporting antagonists who were widely criticized for the same reasons. Though it makes very little sense when viewed through the guise of DC’s success, there’s certainly an odd trend in the studio’s highest-grossing titles.
Though the movies of the DCEU featured several perfect Superman moments, many considered the franchise’s handling of the character underwhelming. Even so, rewatching DC’s highest-grossing movies highlights the harsh reality that Superman simply isn’t as present as one might expect. In fact, it’s only Man of Steel and Batman v Superman that heavily feature the Last Son of Krypton, with Supes also playing a supporting role in Justice League. Regardless, seven out of the 10 movies do not feature DC’s iconic hero at all.
Superman is undeniably one of the most iconic and perhaps the most influential superhero in all pop culture. One of the longest-lasting staples of the genre, he’s the quintessential hero and one of DC’s flagship characters. Even so, his box office success is dwarfed by that of other DC characters, particularly Batman. As strange as it may seem, Superman’s box office success comes nowhere near matching his widespread fame.
The DCEU officially came to a close with the ending of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, giving way to the new continuity known as the DCU. With DC’s first attempt at a shared universe now having met its end, it’s clear that the franchise’s days were numbered when considering DC’s best-earning movies. Though there are multiple DCEU movies on the list, none of them came later in the timeline than 2018’s Aquaman.
Looking over the DCEU movies on the list and their respective placements outlines a loose trend. Man of Steel, the first DCEU movie, is DC’s ninth highest-grossing movie, with subsequent entries performing better. However, the movies released into the franchise after Aquaman didn’t break the top 10, proving that the franchise’s financial success had been on the decline for five years before its eventual demise.
One of the more bizarre truths about DC’s highest-grossing movies is that they all have relatively little in common. Out of the top 10, there are movies that take a more grounded and gritty approach to their characters, and there are also more outlandish and fantastical adventures. Some are franchise movies written to exist in a shared continuity, while others are more self-contained fare. There are even some movies that follow villains as opposed to heroes.
The harsh reality that this highlights is that there seems to be no set formula for success when it comes to DC movies. The varied nature of DC’s highest-grossing movies makes for an unpredictable list featuring a number of different writers and directors with vastly different approaches to their stories. Trying to make sense of such an eclectic mix is particularly jarring, making DC’s list of top movies seem all the stranger as a result.
A particularly harsh reality about DC’s top-grossing movies is that there appears to be no real correlation between critical and commercial success. Many movies in the top 10 are widely considered bad or controversial movies – such as Suicide Squad, Justice League, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – but this didn’t seem to curb their box office appeal. Similarly, there are movies in the top 10 that received critical acclaim, but they don’t rank as the highest earners.
Aquaman being the highest-grossing DC movie of all time is especially odd. Considering it earned more at the box office than Joker or The Dark Knight, both of which won major awards and are considered two of the best superhero movies ever made, seems especially bizarre. Even so, it’s an unpleasant truth that critical praise doesn’t necessarily facilitate box office success, particularly with DC movies.
Reviewing the list of DC’s highest-grossing movies in order is a little mind-boggling for those attempting to extrapolate a pattern. Whichever angle DC’s box office success is examined from, there’s no clear pattern and therefore no apparent formula for a financially successful DC movie. Though the quality of DC movies has always been somewhat inconsistent, looking at the specific earnings of its top films highlights just how unreliable the studio really is.
In terms of release dates, there’s no steady decline or considerable growth in financial returns on DC movies. Likewise, popularity with audiences and critics doesn’t appear to contribute directly to the box office takings of each movie. Being part of a franchise or a separate entity also seems to make no real difference, making it especially difficult to decipher exactly what makes certain DC movies more successful than others.