Obsession’s Destruction Of Marvel And DC Is Another Sign Superhero Movies Are Done

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 3 minutes ago

Over the weekend, Obsession crossed the $400 million mark at the global box office. It’s notable because the film written and directed by Curry Barker cost $750,000 to make, making it one of the most profitable films in history, but also because that means it has officially surpassed Supergirl ($100 million), Thunderbolts ($382 million), and by the end of the month, is projected to beat Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million). The days of Marvel turning B-tier and even D-tier characters into nearly a billion dollar movies are long over and the younger audiences are flocking back to horror in the pursuit of something new and different. 

Obsession Is Young And Hip, Superheroes Are Old And Broken

Obsession dared to tell a different type of story. Sort of. Monkey’s Paw morality stories are a dime a dozen but by leaning into toxic relationships and turning Bear (Michael Johnston) into a horrible person, Barker found the right twist on a classic. It helps that Inde Naverrette as Nikki gave the role her all with one of the year’s best performances. Compare young and hungry up-and-coming stars both behind and in front of the camera to the routine, predictable, superhero movies of the last two years and there’s no wonder younger audiences have made their choice. 

Thunderbolts dared to do something different within the Marvel formula by focusing on the damaged psychological states of its villainous heroes. It’s Marvel’s best movie in years but it was damaged by years of disappointing films and an entire phase of films that feel like they have no reason to exist. At the end of the day, it’s still a superhero movie. 

DC’s latest in the reborn universe under James Gunn is disappointing. Supergirl had the potential to be something different and daring. Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King is the best arc for the character and Milly Alcock is an inspired choice for Superman’s cousin, yet the end result is a very brown movie that lacks the wonder and amazement of Gunn’s own Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Marvel And DC Have To Go Back To The Drawing Board

There’s a lot of lessons Hollywood should learn from the success of Obsession, and none of them will stick. Marvel has Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday hitting theaters this year, both of which will be massive hits. The problem is what comes after them. Marvel is going to reset after Secret Wars, but will anyone still care by then? 

James Gunn’s decision to make Clayface, written by the modern King of Horror Mike Flanagan and directed by James Watkins, two people far removed from the superhero sphere of influence, is a huge gamble that can pay off big for Warner Bros. It’s closer to Obsession than it is to Superman, and maybe can bridge the gap between the horror-seeking younger audience and the older-skewing superhero audience. 

No matter how the major studios decide to move forward, Obsession is a sign that the world has changed. The superhero formula isn’t working as well as it used to when Captain Marvel and Aquaman both broke a billion. The younger audience is demanding something different, something new, and until Disney and Warner Bros figure out what that is, get used to very expensive VFX-filled superhero throwdowns to lose out to the likes of Sirenhead.