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Marvel, DC Duel At the Box Office
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Last year's "Catwoman" was also a major embarrassment for Warner Bros., as the company now admits without much prompting.
Jeff Robinov, president of production at Warner Bros. Pictures, said in a telephone interview this week that his studio has learned from the mistakes of that film. He points to the relative success of "Constantine," a Keanu Reeves picture, and the new Batman as moves in the right direction.
The upcoming Superman movie, due next summer, "is the next step forward for us," he said. "I think you're going to see an excellent movie."
A lot is resting on Robinov to make sure mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent finds the right vehicle. Superman is, after all, still the big guy in the superhero universe, as far as comics and pop culture are concerned.
As Brad Meltzer, a bestselling novelist who wrote a comic series for DC Comics last year, puts it: "Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are still the most recognizable heroes no matter how much [X-Men character] Wolverine grosses at the box office."
Though he is a DC Comics fan, Meltzer does not want to trash Marvel, because he said the whole industry suffers if anybody serves up a product that flops.
"Whenever a bad comic-book movie comes out, I always think, 'Man, that's going to hurt us in the long run,'" he said. "If we have three bad superhero movies in a row, we're going to go back to where you don't see superhero movies for a long time."
On the other hand, whenever there is a well-made superhero flick at the multiplex, the industry that got it all started -- comic books -- seems slightly little less geeky or archaic. For a while.
"You may get people walking through the door. You put your best face forward and let people know that comics are good," said Devon Sanders, a manager at Beyond Comics in the District. "Maybe they buy something or maybe they don't. But at least they know the characters are still there waiting for them."
