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| Popcult | |
Boff! What a summer. Batman and his comic book ilk buoyed box offices Sep 2, 2008
Thanks to Batman, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk and three of their kin, America's movie theaters were busy over these warm months, despite the sagging economy, rising gas prices and a general gloominess over where many believe America is headed. Consumers escaped to the bijou and got what they came for. Indeed, when this summer rolled around, it was hard to imagine that the box office could muster anything close to the record-breaking results of summer 2007. And yet it has come surprisingly close. Although attendance is down a fair bit on last year, about 3.5 percent, higher ticket prices mean that the domestic box office receipts are actually expected to reach $4.13 billion, just slightly below last year’s $4.16 billion, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. This strong performance is thanks in no small part to the American comic book and its more adult offshoot, the graphic novel. "The Dark Knight,” the umpteenth Batman movie and starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, managed to do what only one other movie, "Titanic," has ever done: gross over half $1 billion domestically. All told there were six comic book or graphic novel adaptations, including the summer’s No. 2 movie, “Iron Man.” That’s more than ever before. Together these movies grossed $1.4 billion, or one third of the summer's total, according to Exhibitor Relations, easily trumping the $1.3 billion in ticket sales for the summer’s eight sequels. “Over the next two to three years you are going to see a ton of these movies starting to come out, especially after the success of 'The Dark Knight,’” says Josh Flanagan, founder of iFanboy.com, a comic review and community site. In fact, the comic book adaptations have been so successful that Warner Bros. intends to make fewer movies but more of the expensive variety. Comic books adaptations will be a central part of the plan. Even Tom Cruise is getting in on the action. Cruise is said to be discussing a major role in “Sleeper,” an adaptation of a comic from DC imprint Wildstorm, to be directed by Sam Raimi, director of "Spider-Man." The list of adaptations due out this year alone includes “Punisher: War Zone,” the sequel to the 2004 movie, due to appear on screens Dec. 5, and “The Spirit,” by Frank Miller, creator of “Sin City.” Next year, watch for “Watchmen,” which is expected out in March. Directed by Zack Snyder, "Watchmen” is based on the 1986 comic book later published as a graphic novel by Alan Moore. The book helped to bring huge changes to the genre, adding a level of maturity. It pushed the genre to a darker, grittier level, and one where superheroes were put in the context of the real world. “That is widely considered to be the greatest comic book or graphic novel ever done,” says Flanagan. “It is 'The Godfather' of comic books.” “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns,” the comic book series by Miller, followed soon after, as a darker take on the original comic book series from the 1930s. “The dark period is still going on. Those two works really changed things a lot,” says Flanagan. It is also coming through in a movie like “The Dark Knight.” Another notable due out in 2009 is “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” directed by Edgar Wright, which has the potential to catch on, believes Flanagan. And “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” will arrive in theaters May 1. As studios rush to bring out these adaptations, the question is, will the interest last? Flanagan thinks so, although the superhero side could ultimately lose some steam, and other types of graphic novel adaptations take off. “The comic book is not a genre but rather a medium. So it is like saying that people will tire of movies adapted from books. That would never happen,” says Flanagan. Back in the 1960s, during a particularly campy era in television, one show built around Batman and sidekick Robin came up with a clever device. Every time the Caped Crusader duked it out in his TV show, a graphic card with a single word flashed up. Also used, but only once each, were zgruppp! and whack-eth! *** Meanwhile, elsewhere in popcult, the comedy “Tropic Thunder” was No. 1 at the box office over the weekend for the third straight week, bringing in another$11.5 million. “Babylon A.D.” debuted at No. 2 with $9.7 million in ticket sales.
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