Which Film Franchise Is Set To Dominate The Markets?

5th February 2016

By Louise Wood.

Franchises are definitely having their moment, as the likes of Marvel and DC schedule in sequel after sequel to appease eager fans and Star Wars is hot on their heels, as it dominated the market in December 2015, taking home nearly $2billion worldwide. In its seventh weekend it was still taking $10.8million domestically, beating Avatar by $125million.

Senior market analyst Chris Beachamp believes Disney has definitely reaped the rewards of their investment and takeover of Lucas Films but when it comes to the stock market there hasn’t been a rush of investors, mainly because “despite Star Wars’ popularity, the film hasn’t picked up many Oscar nominations. Investors in Disney should look on the franchise as a steady earner, not a flash in the pan.”

So now that the Star Wars rush is over, who is going to pick up the mantle in terms of franchises? Who will dominate the market for 2016 and beyond? Well, it has to be Marvel. Yet, another Disney investment – those guys sure know what they’re doing.

This is because superhero movies are still hot property, people are invested in the franchises currently being put out with the Avengers and X-Men films stirring up excitement and interest around the world.

The introduction of new heroes and villains are ensuring these franchises stay fresh, as well as adopting new approaches to the style of film; Deadpool is a good example of this as it moves away from the usual Marvel 12A rating and jumps straight to a 15, with bloody violence, bad language and nudity. In fact, it’s been banned in China so that should give you some indication of just how big a change Marvel has made.

Let’s not forget Marvel has also stretched out to dominate the TV market as well, with shows on Netflix such as Jessica Jones and Daredevil receiving high ratings, as well as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Jessica Jones is definitely leading the way when it comes to positive reviews and ratings as the tortured anti-hero’s show receives a whopping 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and it is estimated that an average 4.8 million adults in the 18-49 group tuned in to watch Jessica fight Kilgrave, between the months of September to December in 2015. The show has of course been renewed for a second season, although it’s unclear when this will be released.

Jones is another example of Marvel moving away from the slightly cheesy, fun superhero concept and taking on a grittier, sexier approach to telling their superhero’s story. DC is attempting to do the same and while it’s Gotham series started of shaky but picked up more viewers over time it isn’t hitting the nail on the head quite like Marvel. It’s Flash series has a fair few viewers and Supergirl’s ratings have been struggling although it receives a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes than Jessica Jones…

However, let’s not forget it’s not just movies and TV Marvel is dominating, their merchandise sales are exceedingly high with everything from t-shirts to socks to action figures in the popular items section on most websites. Spider-Man is actually one of the most popular superheroes they have to offer, with the Avengers climbing up the ranks.

It’s safe to say Marvel will continue dominating the markets and it will be exciting to see what they do next when a shake up is required, or if DC finally catches up to them.

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