Superhero Flicks That Missed Their Mark

0:00On April 5th, superhero movies that straight up bombed at the box office often deserve better, but timing killed them. We're talking flicks like The Rocketeer, Batman, Mask of the Phantasm, Watchmen, Mystery Men, and Super. These weren't trash. They had solid cast, cool concepts, and even critical love, but dropped when crowds wanted something else entirely. Take The Rocketeer from 1991, a fun 30s adventure with jet packs and Jennifer Commonly shining like old Hollywood. Period superhero tales weren't hot yet, that blew up later with Captain America, the first Avenger and Wonder Woman. Meanwhile, Batman, Mask of the Phantasm, hit during Batman Fever, but got rushed marketing and flopped despite tying into the animated series. Audiences skipped Watchmen in 2009 because its dark, twisty deconstruction was too heady for casual fans. It opened strong with comic nerds, but tanked fast. Mystery Men in 1999 poked fun at lame heroes with a killer cast, Ben Stiller, Honkazaria, Paul Rubens.

1:06Needed when the genre was barely kicking off, buried by Star Wars and Austin Powers, James Gunn's Super from 2011 tried gritty vigilante vibes, right as Marvel dominated, and nobody knew him yet. Critics dug it, but it couldn't break even amid MCU hype. Fast forward and similar ideas crushed it later. Gunn proved it with Guardians of the Galaxy. Timings everything in this game, drop the right story at the right beat and you own the box office, entertainment and celebrity news. Today, powered by AI bringing you what's trending.