A lot of money was spent on promotion of Green Lantern? I must have missed that one. And I've never actually heard of Mars Needs Moms, so they failed in promoting that one too.

Whereas Gravity was even on Lorraine masquerading as an important news item that people should not miss. There are levels of promotion. For some like Tarantino, it doesn't take much, but even he will promote himself through so-called news channels.

There are certain films that people cannot miss... like Titanic. Who hasn't seen that? I can safely raise my hand there. Never seen it, and have no desire ever to. There are quite a few Hollywood films I have avoided because we have been bombarded with the advertising too much.

Quoted from rendevous I don't follow you. I point out the flops but you just talk of success. Losing a load of money is a gamble that didn't work out. I like both MOS and TDKR. The latter a lot. But that's beside the point. Reviews have known to be ignored. Look at Bay and Transformers. They were almost universally panned by critics. Yet made a mint. If your argument is they stop a flop by promoting it why do so many films fail to profit. They spent a lot of money on Mars Need Moms, Green Latern. They still do. 47 Ronin? RIPD. Both dead on arrival. As far as how a film with do - Nobody knows anything.

Bay and Transformers carry a certain stigma and don't care less. They still rake in the dosh. They own their market. Media coverage is important, but they don't go for the same ones MOS and DKR aim at. You might think they would be all depressed by the critics reviews, but I doubt they really give a crap. They OWN the movie rights to something kids and adults enjoyed seeing as cartoons or in comics and they exploit that, regardless of quality. They know they will get a profit, which seems to be their main aim above producing a quality product. However, that is debatable. Many people love those films so...

The difference changes when you talk about MOS or DKR because the appeal is a different market. Completely different. Worlds apart.  Batman and Superman are the most iconic superheroes ever created, you can't really give them the same treatment as you would give something minor in comparison like Transformers or Green Lantern.

The kings of the ring always get the best treatment. Cut and nip a few but if a film is designed to be successful it will be.

I don't take much notice of what the press say about movies, particularly current events, but it is a vital tool in selling a product. They are as much a joke as the 5 stars they award to films day in day out, only for some television mag writer to rescind them years later.

Regarding Gravity, not seen it yet. I might watch it on the TV when it comes on cable. No need to see it in the cinema and become another sucker like I was with Prometheus. I have a feeling this will be the exact same thing.

Scoob,

I think you're being rather selective in your arguments.

Film criticism is not what it was. But there's still some good ones out there. The likes of Kermode will always have a job. I'm sure there any many equivalents in different terrortories.

The only certain hit coming out soon is Star Wars 7. A safer bet could not be had.

Even Avatar 2 and 3 could fail. They probably won't. But you never know.

For every other movie work, luck, good word of mouth. The main reason they do sequels is because they expect to get half of the audience they had, minimum. There's no guarantee of this, but it's a safer venture than a brand new film.

Superman failed before. Ask Bryan Singer about it. There couldn't be a bigger character. It's not like they forgot to market it or it was that bad. It wasn't good. But there's plenty of haters out there of the new one too.

Maybe the lady doth protest too much. So I'll stop.

You'll enjoy Gravity a lot more than Prometheus. Or perhaps not. I hope you do.

R

Fair enough.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Although I'm not a lady. At least not last time I looked. Crikey. Maybe I am.

Time will tell. Or time will not. Only the hands of a clock will spin and dictate to us what the time really is. Maybe we might then only know what the time really is. But will the clock ever be shown?

I 'm one of the few "Donner fan-boys" that enjoyed Superman Returns. I can't say I loved the idea of many aspects of the film but as a homage to what I regard as a true classic, I think Singer did an outstanding job.  Superman Returns, kid aside, is pretty much as dark as Superman should have got.  It is a quite beautiful film in some aspects but it is let down by the fact it never becomes it's own entity. It's too afraid to step out of Dick Donner's shoes. When it does - the kid - it comes across as shoe-horned and ridiculous. Some of the other stuff in Supe Returns is almost classic.
And it got 5 star reviews when it opened. Only later did it get panned.

After watching Man Of Steel, I was gobsmacked. I could not believe they had relegated Superman into this pile of shite. There had to be a reason - and the reason is this stupid Justice League movie which has now become Batman Teaming up with superman. Oh good god.
You know, Superman IV was shite. But I might just prefer watching... ENDLESS RANT....

Quoted from Scoob The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

I meant me, silly. I read back what I said and I was reminded of my days standing outside the headmaster's office. I mean when I was a pupil. Not that brief time I was a supply teacher. That did not go well at all. Oh, wrong forum.

You get philosophical later in your post. Indeed. Will it? And when will we know? Has it already happened and we missed it? Or thought it was something else. Something subtle.

Opinions. It'd be dull if we all agreed. We're in agreement on that. Maybe.

R

Quoted from rendevous Opinions. It'd be dull if we all agreed. We're in agreement on that. Maybe. R

Absolutely!
You are a nice guy, as is everyone here.
Everyone is beautiful. However, I need to determine a couple of things. Who is fit to write. Who is fit to DIE!!!
Mwhahahaha!!!!

In regards to Superman... he will always lose to Batman or Spiderman. I read a lot of comics growing up (graphic novels, whatever). Batman was a favourite, Spiderman was OK. Superman was gay.

Oops, there's that word again. Oh well... it's true. I still think Superman is gay and so do a lot of other people. Even making him fight aliens doesn't help... Heroes need to be flawed, they need to be like us. Spiderman though is cool... but could he ever outdo Batman? I don't think so. He's a close second, but will always be a close second.... because he has superpowers. Batman is just a guy... any of us could be Batman... Another good one though is X-Men, because they are human mutants. I liked those over Superman. Hulk is another one that is hit and miss... in a way, any of us could be Hulk, if we got hit with gamma rays... but he's never really in any danger.

None of us could ever be Superman though, we're all human. Superman is separate and will make money if played right... but generally speaking, people don't really like him. There's a lot to hate about Superman. Even the kids don't like him.

The best Superman film was Superman 2. He had to fight some more Aliens that were threatening Earth. Superman was actually in danger and outnumbered and... he could lose.

Yeah, I don't know.

I can understand and see the "gay" thing with Superman. But I was introduced to him by the movies. I don't know about the comics too much, so I lose a lot of cred there. No idea and to be honest no real interest in understanding the lore unless I need to.

I think I was attracted to Superman because he was so powerful but frail. His character in the first film is about someone that is not this STEEL PERSON but someone that is trying to find out what life it all about, despite his ridiculous powers. His father's death is powerful - all his powers and he can't prevent death for example.
He's a nerd. He's CLARK KENT. He's a homeboy that has no idea who he really is. When he finds out, he uses it to help people.  The first three Superman movies, or maybe the first two Superman is just a nice guy that HELPS innocent people. He's lovable and I miss that kind of hero in a way. You could relate to this bumbling idiot. And you would love it when said idiot turns into the greatest superhero of all time and then meekly returns to his desk with modesty and charm. * Excluding various criminal charges that could be brought against him.

Nowadays, heroes need to be vigilantes, killing people for revenge, reality etc. Yes, it reflects the times but that's kind of the point of having Superman. He is a fairy-tale character but holy hell, it makes you feel good watching him. It makes you wish you were him. To do GOOD. Watching Superman made you want to be like him and help other people.

Maybe not these days. And that's where he is misfitting. Batman, yes, Superman, not at the moment. To make a dark Superman is just ridiculous. He just does not fit. Nowadays, no one gives a shit about anyone. Batman fits right in.

Quoted from DB In regards to Superman... he will always lose to Batman or Spiderman.

Eh? He'd kick their bony asses.

R

Superman: The Movie all the way.

That is movie magic. It's a beautiful movie. Love it. Even now. It's a true classic.

Superman always lost out to the big two when I was a kid... and he will lose out now. He could push for third place... but he has to contend with X-Men, Hulk and Iron Man for that spot. Iron Man is a surprise, because as a comic character he wasn't all that popular... I think it's that human thing again. Anyone could be Iron Man.

But I don't like the Iron Man films... I think it could be Downey Junior, I don't like in the part. I don't like Spiderman either... the only reason I watch Batman is because I hope that one day they will make a film as dark as the old graphic novels were. However, they'd probably need to up the age rating to a 15.

Here are some fun numbers to check out: http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/budgets/

Forget 100 million dollar budgets, we're hitting half a billion these days. You can see the profits too.

Yeah, I agree Batman has a bigger draw than Superman. Always has had the potential.
I think even Iron Man is probably bigger than Supes right now. That's pretty sad, but understandable considering the times we're in and the films they're making.

The Iron Man film. Really liked it because, as Dustin says, Downey Junior stole the show. Really impressive. Great actor. Nice one liners. Shot well.
Not sure about part 2, got too bored. Saw bits of part three. Meh.

But yeah these things make serious money, haha.

From a personal POV, nothing will beat Superman. It's the perfect superhero movie for me. Those that say Superman has no opponent completely miss the objective of the films. Granted, things may be wrong with it. Few and far.  But the same as the Nolan Batman trilogy .Lots and lots.  Anyways, I get a massive kick out of watching them. I just prefer super to the Bat. Love 'em both. I like Superman's innocence being tested. I like Batman's darkness.  
So I always went with Supes. He would do the right thing to help others even if it meant sacrificing himself and was clever about doing it even going as far as luring the villains to obscure lands - unlike this imbecile MAN OF STEEL.... uhhg.
So even though Superman was incredibly strong, he was always weak as he had emotions. The original movies played on that part, at least the first did. The remake... I can't even talk about that mess.
Superman would ultimately outwit the villains by thought, not brute strength. That in itself said a lot. You don't need to be tough to be good. You just need to be clever, good. Simple, effective.
I still love Superman haha. I think he's great.