Gabby Zibell
Mr. Reuter
Economics
11/3/14
Marvel Entertainment
Even if you’re not a fan of Marvel movies, it’s very likely that you’ve heard of them. They’ve produced movies like X-Men, Iron Man, and now the trailer for Avengers 2 is out meaning that they intend to continue producing movies well into the future. In total, Marvel has made $3,627,663,611 on its top ten movies, that’s over a billion more than its competitor DC Comics meaning that Marvel dominates when it comes to superhero movies and will likely continue to be the most popular company as they continue to make more and more movies.
In 2009, Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion, meaning that the two movie companies would merge to become one. While Disney is known for its animated kids movies, it was missing something that Marvel would help them gain, a wider audience. Currently, “Disney's own cartoons, and the newer ones created by Pixar, an animation studio it bought in 2006 for $7 billion, appeal to children.” And ““Hannah Montana”, a hit television show, caters to pre-teen girls.” So with the purchase of Marvel the, “characters should be just the thing for boys of the same age, whom Disney has found especially hard to attract of late” (“Of Mouse and X-Men”). With this purchase, Disney will gain the rights to future characters and movies meaning they will make a huge profit seen as how the demand for these characters has only gone up. With this demand increasing, Disney and Marvel will obviously continue to supply the public with more and more movies, meaning more and more sequels which they have already done with both Iron Man and Captain America. Not only will they make money with ticket sales, but with the merchandise that goes along with the characters. If you walk into any toy store, chances are you’ll find at least one shelf devoted to Marvel, that’s because “Disney has proved the undisputed master at exploiting the same basic content through multiple channels, including films, websites, video games, merchandising, live shows and theme parks” ("Of Mouse and X-Men”). All in all, Disney and Marvel only have one goal in mind, to make as much money as they can for as long as they can.
Along with Marvel, there is their competitor DC Comics. DC is responsible for movies like Batman and Superman, and while they’re not lesser known, they aren’t as popular. Nearly every Marvel movie produced in recent years has made more at the box office than any of the DC movies. This is because Marvel has more market power when it comes to superhero movies, they have more characters, more movies, and smarter ways to attract more customers. Whether it’s by producing a movie like the Avengers that combines many heroes or by making sequels like Iron Man 2, which “earned $624m at the box office in 2010” Marvel is using a smart strategy to make the most profit possible (“More, Merrier”). Unlike DC, Marvel has planned out a huge list of movies all the way through 2020, and while DC has some movies planned, it’s nowhere near the amount Marvel is producing, another reason why Marvel has the upper hand over DC.
All in all, Marvel has made smart decisions from the beginning, they merged with Disney to be able to reach more people, launched a group of movies that will continue to allow them to make more money, and have released a timeline of an extensive list of movies to be produced in the future. With the movies they have made and are planning on making, Marvel has guaranteed its continued success which will allow them to expand as a company and continue to make money well into the future.
Works Cited
"Caped Competition." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 13 June 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
"DC Comics." Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
"MARVEL AND DC’S UPCOMING MOVIE TIMELINE." Rare Norm. Rare Norm, 16 Aug. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
"Marvel Comics." Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
"More, Merrier." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 5 May 2012. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
"Of Mouse and X-Men." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 3 Sept. 2009. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Hiya Gabby, I think another factor to why Marvel has such a larger earning per movie than DC does is because they have way more humor mixed into their movies which can tend to be a little dark at times. These little glints of humor keep the audience engaged and happy while DC movies then to just keep going and going with maybe only an occasional lame attempt at getting a cheap laugh outta someone. Although another worrying detail is that Disney has been buying out many other successful franchises lately (Marvel, Lucasfilms, ect.) and left unchecked the entire movie making business could possibly evolve into a very monopolistic empire.
ReplyDeleteDue to the many more movies that Marvel can produce in a certain amount of time can also attribute to their success. Marvel is also very large with many different people working for them while DC is smaller so it can't produce multiple films at one time.
ReplyDeleteColin Marks
ReplyDeleteThe reason why Marvel makes more money per movie than DC is because all of their movies are developing further with multiple movies stringed together so when one is a hit people will come back to see the next ones. Also Marvel is working with more appealing with characters. Although the Batman movies from DC are my favorite, but the combination of all the other movies from Marvel over power DC.
I would like to point out that, although Marvel has a higher total revenue, they also have a much higher movie output in comparison to DC. While Marvel has the Avengers, Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man, and X-Men, DC only has Batman and Superman, so the revenue per movie is much higher for DC as compared to Marvel, therefore, it can be argued that DC is more successful than Marvel.
ReplyDeleteGabby, your post was extremely interesting to read, as I am a huge Marvel fan. It's intriguing to read about how Marvel's success compares to DC. I also agree with Allison, how humor is incorporated into the movies, making it more appealing. Also, as you mentioned that Hannah Montana was more appealing to preteen girls, I feel as if Marvel appeals to those of all ages: girls, boys, preteens, young adults, seniors, and because of that, Marvel movies are in higher demand. Like you mentioned, merchandise is an immense marketing advantage, as many will feel compelled to buy the products associated with the super hit films. In addition to the result of a wider audience, Disney also has a large audience to begin with, so by merging the companies, ultimate success can be reached. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I didn't really know there was a competitor with Marvel. I am a fan of the marvel movies because of the intriguing stories that mix with some light humor at times. They have done such a great job of casting and putting together the films that there is not another company that can compete with Marvel Films. Yet, I did not realize how much money they really bring in with the movies they have. Overall, I am impressed with Marvel and cannot believe they are so prominent in this market.
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ReplyDeleteI liked your point on how Marvel has more market power, I would have to agree. Personally my favorite is Thor I love both the first and second movies. Back to the point Marvel has more exciting trailers and ads and even more exciting actors. Looking at your chart about upcoming films by both DC and Marvel it clearly looks like Marvel with dominate in the near and far future.
ReplyDeleteGabby, I would have to agree with Allison when she said that MArvel movies have much more humor in them, which is why they might be more popular. I was unaware though that marvel and disney were merging together. With Disney being one of the most known companies in America, and marvel not far behind, who knows maybe one day they will become a monopoly together. Overall great article gabby, I love the preview of what is to come! Good job!
ReplyDeleteGabby.. of course you write a blog on Marvel. And I know I'm not supposed to critique your writing, but "meaning" did become a little repetitive. Force of habit, sorry, ANYWAYS I didn't know that Marvel was beating DC comics by so much! And it never really came to me that Disney is now losing the little male audience from all the princess movies that came out, so it makes sense. With more characters adding on to their series and comic plots from the original comic books, it's no surprise that their market will increase for years to come. Good job Gabby!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post! It's not surprising that Marvel is more popular than DC, considering the amount of Marvel related movies being released in a given year. I was completely unaware of the merger between Marvel and Disney however, and surprised at how their profits increased drastically. It is clear that Marvel will remain successful for a long time.
ReplyDeleteGabby, great topic! Economically speaking, the merging of Marvel with Disney is a great move, since now Disney can start selling the names that previously only Marvel owned. Although Disney is known for more childish content, as you mentioned, I don't think that this merge will affect any of the Marvel content that it is well known for.
ReplyDeleteMarvel has dominated the box office the last few times they’ve released a new movie, and it’s because of their wider audience range. While DC movies like Batman and Superman, don’t appeal to many younger ages, Marvel movies have been tailored in a way that their movies can appeal to younger kids and older teens and adults, increasing their market power. I think that it also helps that Disney already had a strong market power. Being able to advertise their Marvel movies to Disney’s already huge audience only helped strengthen the positive responses to the Marvel movies.
ReplyDeleteGabby-
ReplyDeleteMarvel in the world of making movies is much like Starbucks in the world of brewing coffee. It dominates and appeals not only to teenagers with high expectations for action films, but also to middle aged and older adults who favored the original versions of the super hero films and are curious about what this new and improved version is all about. Plus Dinsey is basically taking over the world with all of its access to shaping the minds of Americans, so that’s always an interesting topic to talk about :)
Was shocked to hear that Disney bought Marvel, I guess I never noticed that Disney thing on their movies. I remember going to see Guardians of the Galaxy, an amazing motion picture. I wonder how much money they made from that seeing as they made $3 billion from avengers. Anyway, I'm always willing to give money to go see their movies.
ReplyDeleteGabby, I really liked the topic of your post. I’m a huge Marvels fan, although I was unaware that Disney and Marvel had merged. I agree with Lauren that, sooner than later, Disney, with the help of Marvel, will soon be a monopoly of its own kind. Also the preview was really cool!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic to write about. Marvel movies are interesting and Disney was very smart to purchase Marvel. There's new Marvel movies all the time and interest in Marvel is certainly increasing which brings more profit to Disney. It also helps that Marvel will increase Disney's already large audience and people interested in watching their movies.
ReplyDeleteDC's biggest downfall is they rewrite the same story over and over again. Superman has at least 5000 origin movies. Who wants to watch that? The same thing? or even a different take on the exact same thing? No one wants that. Marvel on the other hand expands on its characters in sequels or just adding new heroes to its line up. This strategy gave marvel a huge upper hand in the market and also the huge advantage they have. Disney did not need to purchase marvel to make these things possible. DC dug it's own grave by trying to recycle heroes.
ReplyDeleteI think that Disney's decision to purchase Marvel is extremely economically smart on their part. Disney is a huge company and targets a wide audience and by adding Marvel their audience span grows even larger. I think that eventually most movies will be made by Disney and they will become a monopoly. They used to be just kid movies but look at the span of genres they have now. Disney is already a success and will continue to grow.
ReplyDeleteMarvel is clearly dominating the competition and are continuing to grow. It’s amazing how they continue to come up with several different ideas for movies. Disney was smart about buying this company because they had many sign of success that would allow them to continue to grow as a company. By combining Marvel and Disney will allow them to be even more successful than before. Overall this is a very good company that is doing many thing right and will be a company that will be around for a while.
ReplyDeleteWow, who would have thought that one company could dominate such a large movie type. They obviously take pride in figuring out the best way to attract their market and truly want to be on top. I find it interesting that Disney bought them out in order to improve their market, which is proof of dominance. It is also hard to believe that Marvel has already planned out movies into 2020, how do they already have all of these ideas. Personally I would never be able to plan that far in advance. This was a great topic that introduced me to something I have never really thought about before.
ReplyDeleteAs a movie lover myself, this blog posting was very interesting. I too think that it was a strong, and smart decision for Disney to buy out Marvel. It not only benefits Disney, but also Marvel. Together these two companies will make an enormous profit because each company has something to offer the other. Marvel brings its characters and superheros to Disney, and in turn, Disney brings in a more children aspect to Marvel. I thought it was a very interesting fact that Marvel already has multiple movies in production all the way from now to 2020, while DC comics may have only a few.
ReplyDeleteMarvel is huge and now especially since Disney has joined them, things will become even more hectic in the coming years with producing movies. They dominate the movie market and create movies than entertain all ages of people. They have given us stories that spark creativity and show people that good still wins over evil almost each and every time. I personally love the movies that Marvel comes out with and will probably see almost every single movie they are planning on releasing in the near future. Overall Marvel is a very successful company that will continue to make a large profit for numerous years ahead.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is very interesting. I would argue that even though Marvel has been putting out more movies that DC is putting out better quality movies. The Dark Knight trilogy for example is the best super hero movies of all time way better than what Marvel could dream of. The same thing goes with Superman for when DC came out with Man of Steel in my opinion it was better than the Iron Mans or the X men movies.
ReplyDeleteI thought that you did a great job connecting this to economics. As a Marvel movie lover, many people along with myself will see almost every Marvel movie that is made. But, however, now that they are linked with Disney, Disney will be even bigger than they already are, They already have a huge number of viewers and now they are getting a wider adult audience. I thought that you did a great job connecting this to economics. Good job!
ReplyDeleteNo surprise that Gabby wrote about Marvel but I agree it was a smart decision. Its going to be profitable for both companies and makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a fascinating topic! I am so glad you decided to do Marvel, Gabby. My sister and I have had an ongoing debate about who is better Marvel or DC and I finally have some evidence to back my argument up. Anyways I digress. I think it’s very interesting that Marvel has such a higher advantage over DC. It’s amazing what such good planning can do for you. Besides planning I think it also has something to do about being purely smarter. Marvel has, in recent years, made movies of more and more of their comic characters. Previously comic characters have been something only children like or a handful of adults considered strange, however through their movies Marvel has created and expanded audience, not just in age but also in interests. That is what I call innovation.
ReplyDeleteEven if you're not a fan of Marvel movies, it's very likely that you've heard of ... monopolymarvel.blogspot.de
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