12 epic disasters of superhero movies: Morbius, Marvels, Black Adam & more

By Vivek Dubey

CNBC-TV18.com

Published Dec 11, 2023

How did some of the most anticipated films in recent years become the biggest flops of all time? From Morbius to Marvels, here’s a list of epic failures of superhero movies.

Green Lantern’s Failure

Ryan Reynolds’ 2011 superhero film lost $75m due to weak character development and excessive special effects.

Fantastic Four Flop

The 2015 Marvel film by Fox had a novice director and poor reviews, leading to a box office disaster.

Justice League Jumble

The 2017 superhero film was a financial disappointment, but Zack Snyder’s 2021 director’s cut received acclaim.

Dark Phoenix Disaster

The 2019 X-Men film was the biggest superhero flop ever, losing $133m and getting terrible reviews.

New Mutants Misfire

The 2020 X-Men spinoff ended Fox’s franchise with a low score of 36% on Rotten Tomatoes and a lukewarm reception.

Eternals’ Embarrassment

The 2021 Marvel film was a flop, getting the worst reviews of any Marvel film and underperforming at the box office.

Morbius’ Misstep

The 2022 film starring Jared Leto as a Spider-Man villain was a failure, plagued by negative word-of-mouth and ironic memes.

Black Adam Bust

The 2022 DC film featuring Dwayne Johnson failed to break even, grossing $393m against a $190-230m budget.

Shazam! Sequel Sinks

The 2023 sequel to Shazam! (2019) performed poorly, grossing $235m less and earning mediocre reviews.

Ant-Man’s Agony

The 2023 Marvel film did not break even, grossing $476.1m against a $600m budget, and got a 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Flash’s Fiasco

The 2023 DC team-up film grossed $267m amid controversy and featured Michael Keaton’s Batman, but still flopped.

Marvels’ Misfortune

The 2023 sequel to Captain Marvel (2019) suffered from fatigue and multiverse, becoming MCU’s biggest flop. After four weeks on the big screen, the movie earned $197 million globally.