Which Comic Book Movie Will Conquer 2016?

Image Credit Warner Bros.

While most people usual have a special date marked on their calendar, if you’re a fan of comic books then you probably have quite a few circled for 2016 (if not the entire year).

This year, we are going to be spoiled for choice when it comes to comic book movies. A number of them feature premises, characters, and even story arcs we’ve been waiting to see on screen for quite some time. But who will reign supreme and be the all conquering comic book movie (or the highest grossing movie of 2016)?

Captain America: Civil War – May 6

Credit: Marvel Entertainment

So Marvel Studios has already given us The Avengers, Age of Ultron, and probably the best shared cinematic universe to-date (are there any others?). However, when this movie was announced, many fans must have thought they had died and gone to Stan Lee’s comic vault.

Honestly, this movie is going to be like Avengers 3. It features just about every hero that’s ever been introduced and the premise is a simple one to follow. But is there too much going on in the movie? Will the abundance of supporting characters take away from the main characters’ struggles? Will audiences like the new Spider-Man?

If any of the movies this year have a chance to hit $2 billion – this one is it.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Mar 25th

Credit: Warner Bros.

As of this publication, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is on pace to set records for an opening weekend box office haul. Of course, just about everyone predicted that it would when the title was announced during the summer of 2013. To put it plainly, just about every comic book fan has been waiting (some for decades) to see The Dark Knight and Man of Steel share some screen time.

Even with less-than-stellar reviews (to put it mildly) there is no stopping this DC franchise from crossing the $1 billion threshold sometime before April. That’s good news for the studio as they pretty much have to hit that mark just to be considered successful in their own eyes. However, the big issue is going to be whether those reviews and general tone of the film will allow this to be the top grossing comic book movie of the year.

The general audience needs to get on board for that to happen. Considering Man of Steel was criticized by members of that segment (and some fans of the character) after its release, BvS needs to desperately have a strong second week.

Deadpool – Feb 12

Credit: Marvel Entertainment

The raunchy-yet-endearing “superhero” movie tore up the box office and kicked off a comic book heavy 2016 with a bang. It came at the perfect time as literally no one was expecting Deadpool to gain any traction. But whether it was the awkward and heavy in humor antics of Ryan Reynolds in the lead role, or sheer surprise at how serious the writer’s took the source material is still too close to call.

Either way, Fox may have found its answer to revitalizing moviegoers who may have fallen out of awe of their X-Men franchise. And with a production cost hovering just around $58 million, Fox pulled off perhaps what will be considered one of the biggest coups of the year.

X-Men: Apocalypse – May 27th

Credit: 20th Century Fox/Marvel Entertainment

Yet another character that is finally being introduced on the big screen to comic book fans this year is Apocalypse. For those who don’t know, he’s like what Thanos is to the Avengers or what Darkseid (yeah, you know it will be him) will be to the Justice League. Of course, whether he lives up to that sort of hype is another story.

Even with the “corrections” the last X-Men movie made to their cinematic timeline, there are still a number of continuity issues that have been mentioned ever since the third X-Men movie. Also, this will be maybe the ninth movie (not counting Deadpool) that will feature Xavier’s students and none of it’s predecessors have crossed the $1 billion threshold.

However, perhaps X-Men: Apocalypse changes all of that and Bryan Singer gets to stick his tongue out at Marvel Studios. Or perhaps Ryan Reynolds will be the face of Fox for the next several years.

Dr. Strange – Nov 4th

Credit: Marvel Entertainment

The last movie to make it in to my predicted top five is another Marvel entity. It’s sort of a strange one (no pun intended) in that not many people actually know who this character is. However, with the success of Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, I’m less hesitant to put an unknown Marvel movie here than the likes of DC/Warner Brothers’ Suicide Squad.

Speaking of, it’s not that I think a movie featuring a number of “bad guys” (most of which are Batman villains) in leading roles won’t be entertaining and of good quality. I just don’t think the general audience is going to invest in it because it’s a movie featuring a number of “bad guys” in the leading roles, even with the cool trailers.

Once Civil War is done and dusted, Disney’s marketing dollars are going to go to work promoting Dr. Strange as yet another Marvel hero worth watching. While it won’t make the same sort of money its studio compatriots have made, I have a sneaking suspicion that it will bring in a surprising haul at the box office.

Either way there is no doubt that it’s a great time to be a fan of comics.

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What films are you most looking forward to seeing this year? Which film do you think will reign supreme in 2016? Let us know in the comments below.