\n\tIt wasn\u2019t so long ago that audiences would show up to seemingly any movie featuring a costumed hero or a masked killer. But times and standards have changed, and lately, Hollywood\u2019s two most reliable genres \u2014 superheroes and horror \u2014 are showing signs of fatigue.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cPeople haven\u2019t stopped loving horror or superhero films, but they stopped loving mediocre entries in those worlds,\u201d says exhibitor Mike Barstow, executive VP of Midwest-based ACX Cinemas. \u201cThere\u2019s a demand for higher quality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAnalysts believe there are different reasons behind the wear and tear of each. Yet both types of fare appear to have reached the oversaturation point. That\u2019s not to say that movies in either genre can\u2019t or won\u2019t break through \u2014 \u201cSinners\u201d ($365 million), \u201cSuperman\u201d ($426 million to date) and \u201cFinal Destination: Bloodlines\u201d ($285 million) are recent triumphs \u2014 but they are no longer box office guarantees.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHollywood takes the less risk-adverse approach and makes what has worked until they have exhausted it,\u201d says Kevin Goetz, founder and CEO of audience research firm Screen Engine\/ASI. \u201cSuddenly there\u2019s a new horror film every week. And superhero movies got into a complacency.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tHorror has long been a big-screen draw because jump scares are more fun in communal settings. Back when virtually nothing was reviving the box office post-COVID, \u201cA Quiet Place Part II,\u201d \u201cHalloween Kills\u201d and \u201cThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It\u201d were early breakout hits<\/a> fueled by younger moviegoers. And scary movies are usually safe bets because they often carry low budgets and don\u2019t require as much to turn a profit. Then there\u2019s endless upside when these films catch fire.<\/p>\n \n\tAs Hollywood has leaned hard into movies about things that go bump in the night, several this year have struggled to stand out. Four Blumhouse features in a row \u2014 \u201cM3GAN 2.0<\/a>\u201d ($37 million), \u201cWolf Man\u201d ($34 million), \u201cThe Woman in the Yard\u201d ($23 million) and \u201cDrop\u201d ($28 million) \u2014 have bombed. Those misfires had company: Sony\u2019s slasher \u201cI Know What You Did Last Summer\u201d ($24 million to date), Warner Bros.\u2019 sci-fi thriller \u201cCompanion\u201d ($36 million) and A24\u2019s nightmarish comedy \u201cDeath of a Unicorn\u201d ($16.4 million) also struck out.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a rut where five or so consecutive movies have performed within a similar range,\u201d says Shawn Robbins, Fandango\u2019s director of movie analytics. \u201cThat says there\u2019s a dedicated audience. But it\u2019s going to take boundary-pushing to break past that ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tJason Blum, founder of low-budget horror empire Blumhouse, has a theory about the mixed bag of horror. He believes there\u2019s a cap on the number of scary movies that can coexist on multiplex marquees.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cRight now there\u2019s too much horror in the marketplace,\u201d Blum said on the \u201cTown\u201d podcast<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re used to a market that can absorb 12 to 15 horror movies where you get these singles and doubles. I think that\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhen horror has captured the zeitgeist, as with \u201cSinners\u201d and last year\u2019s \u201cLonglegs\u201d ($127 million), those films generated the kind of word-of-mouth that turned them into must-see theatrical events. Upcoming releases, such as Zach Cregger\u2019s \u201cWeapons,\u201d the Jordan Peele-produced \u201cHim\u201d and Blumhouse\u2019s \u201cBlack Phone 2\u201d and \u201cFive Nights at Freddy\u2019s 2,\u201d need to spark something similar to disrupt the genre\u2019s holding pattern.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201c\u2019Sinners\u2019 was so successful because it was original and different,\u201d says Allen Michaan, owner of Oakland\u2019s Grand Lake Theatre. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just a horror film. There was so much more there.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSuperhero exhaustion began to set in post-COVID as viewers were inundated with an influx of interconnected TV shows in addition to big-screen releases. For a decade prior to the pandemic, Disney\u2019s Marvel<\/a> Cinematic Universe in particular could basically spotlight any hero and expect a blockbuster smash in return. Yet \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World\u201d ($415 million against a $180 million budget) and \u201cThunderbolts<\/a>\u201d ($382 million against a $180 million budget) are just the latest proof that Marvel isn\u2019t too big to fail<\/a> after all. There are only so many new stories to be told, and audiences seem to be tiring of the monotony.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThese Marvel movies are too much of the same. They always seem to degenerate into 15- or 20-minute fight sequences at the end,\u201d Michaan says. \u201cMy wife and I love movies, and sometimes we leave when the action scenes start because we know how it\u2019s going to end.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe believes the new \u201cSuperman\u201d is resonating because the story feels \u201cdifferent than other DC films.\u201d \u201cIt was outside of the mold of these usual action movies,\u201d Michaan says. \u201cHe was vulnerable and lost fights, which we haven\u2019t seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n