Quick LinksHow Does 2024 Compare to Past Years in the Superhero Genre Superhero TV Shows Have Been a Saving Grace 2025 Hopefully Will See a Rebound for Superhero Films
The reviews for Venom: The Last Dance are in, and they are not good. Venom: The Last Dance is the latest in a long line of superhero films released in 2024 that have received mixed to negative reviews from critics with low Rotten Tomatoes scores. The death of the superhero movie has often been greatly exaggerated, but one look at the lineup for 2024 certainly would suggest the genre is dying. In a year defined by anti-heroes and villains, where Marvel Studios only released one movie, and the DCU is waiting to start, this was a rough year for the superhero genre with only Deadpool & Wolverine seemingly being able to claim a box office victory and minor critical win. It likely won't get any better with the upcoming release of Kraven the Hunter this holiday season.
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While many saw 2023 as the worst year for superhero movies based on many titles' poor box office performances, that year was still a mixed blessing. Titles like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Blue Beetle got positive reviews from critics. Despite both The Marvels and The Flash being headline-making box office bombs, both Rotten Tomatoes scores of 62% and 63%, respectively, put them ahead of all but one of the 2024 superhero offerings. Deadpool & Wolverine might have outgrossed every 2023 superhero movie, but its victory in 2024 feels hollow given the competition. Here is how the 2024 superhero movie compares to other years and what the future holds.
How Does 2024 Compare to Past Years in the Superhero Genre Close ✕ Remove Ads
Reviews for the 2024 superhero movie offerings have been pretty terrible all around. Except for Deadpool & Wolverine, none of the movies have earned a fresh rating. Even worse, Deadpool & Wolverine is also the only superhero title of 2024 to garner over 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. While Kraven the Hunter is still set to come out, the outlook on the film certainly isn't good, so a miracle would be needed to break this downward trend. Here is a breakdown of each 2024 superhero movie's critical score on Rotten Tomatoes organized by release date.
Title
Rotten Tomatoes Score
Release Date
Madame Web
11% (266 Reviews)
February 14, 2024
Deadpool & Wolverine
78% (408 Reviews)
July 26, 2024
The Crow
23% (132 Reviews)
August 23, 2024
Joker: Folie à Deux
32% (342 Reviews)
October 4, 2024
Hellboy: The Crooked Man
41% (32 Reviews)
October 8, 2024
Venom: The Last Dance
38% (68 Reviews)
October 25, 2024
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Often, a terrible superhero movie tends to be balanced out by a few strong ones. The horrible reviews for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad in 2016 were balanced out by Deadpool, Captain America: Civil War, and Doctor Strange getting positive reviews. 2017's Justice League was the negatively reviewed superhero movie that year in what might have been one of the best for the genre as Wonder Woman, Logan, Thor: Ragnarok, The Lego Batman, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 all got over 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Related Highest Rated Superhero Movies, According to Rotten Tomatoes
Superhero films have dazzled and delighted moviegoers for years, providing countless entertainment for fans of the action-packed subgenre.
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The last time one would need to go back to a year this bad would likely be either 2010, 2007, or 1997, and even then, each of those years had three superhero movies as opposed to the six, soon to be seven, titles of 2024. 2010 had Jonah Hex with an abysmal 12%, but even the disappointing Iron Man 2 got 72%, and there was also the cult favorite Kick-Ass with 77%. 2007 had Ghost Rider (27%), Spider-Man 3 (63%), and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (38%), so that certainly comes close to the rough superhero movie year 2024 has been.
Yet 1997 might be the worst year for superhero movies as it has Batman & Robin (12%), Steel (8%), and Spawn (17%). This means that the highest rated of these titles only clears Madame Web in a ranking. While it could be worse, it could also be a lot better. This is the worst year for superhero movies in 27 years.
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With titles like The Crow, Madame Web, and Joker: Folie à Deux all flopping at the box office, Deadpool & Wolverine was a bright spot for fans and the industry alike. You can't say it was the worst year for superhero movies when Deadpool & Wolverine grossed $1.3 billion worldwide, holds the record for the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, is the second-highest-grossing film of the 2024 domestic and worldwide box office, and the fifth highest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The reaction to Deadpool & Wolverine was more on the mixed side, with many saying the movie relied too heavily on fan service to help boost those box office numbers. Critically, Deadpool & Wolverine's Rotten Tomatoes ranking of 78% puts it in the lower middle section, between Thor's 77% and the 79% ratings of Iron Man 3, Black Widow, and Captain Marvel. Deadpool & Wolverine is far away from all four Avengers films or any entry in the Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, or MCU Spider-Man films.
✕ Remove Ads Superhero TV Shows Have Been a Saving Grace Close
While superhero movies have largely been a miss, thankfully, superhero stories on the small screen are still doing well. They are exceeding their live-action film counterparts in every way. Here is a breakdown of each 2024 superhero television Rotten Tomatoes score organized by premiere date.
Title
Rotten Tomatoes Score
Air Date
Invincible Season 2
100% (17 Reviews)
November 3, 2023 - April 4, 2024
Echo
70% (88 Reviews)
January 9, 2024
X-Men '97
99% (79 Reviews)
March 20, 2024 - May 15, 2024
My Adventures with Superman Season 2
100% (5 Reviews)
May 26, 2024 - July 21, 2024
The Boys Season 4
92% (141 Reviews)
June 13, 2024 - July 18, 2024
Batman: Caped Crusader
96% (68 Reviews)
August 1, 2024
Agatha All Along
82% (156 Reviews)
September 18, 2024 - October 30, 2024
The Penguin
94% (149 Reviews)
September 19, 2024 - November 10, 2024
Superman & Lois Season 4
100% (5 Reviews)
October 7, 2024 - TBD
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Prime Video continues to push the boundaries of superhero stories with critically acclaimed new seasons for popular series like Invincible and The Boys. DC might have been largely absent from the big screen in 2024, but on television, they gave both Superman and Batman acclaimed representations in animated entries (My Adventures with Superman on Adult Swim and Batman: Caped Crusader on Prime Video) and live-action series (Superman & Lois's finale season on The CW and The Penguin on HBO).
Deadpool & Wolverine might have been the only MCU film released in 2024, but on Disney+, the franchise was thriving. Echo kicked off the year, and while it is the lowest-rated series of all that is listed, it still performed only a few points below Deadpool & Wolverine. Meanwhile, Agatha All Along has been a big hit with critics and audiences over the Halloween season. 2024 was the year of the X-Men as Deadpool & Wolverine dominated the box office, and X-Men '97 seemed to take everyone by surprise earlier this year. The continuation of the popular X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men '97, might have been the biggest success story for Marvel critically as it got some of the best reviews in the company's history, MCU or otherwise.
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Just like 2024 still has one more superhero movie, Kraven the Hunter, on the way, 2024 also has one more superhero series, Creature Commandos, the first entry in James Gunn's DCU. So far, the buzz on the series is good, so it likely will continue the trend of superheroes thriving on television while on film; they have floundered for the most part critically.
2025 Hopefully Will See a Rebound for Superhero Films Close ✕ Remove Ads
2024 has been a rough year for superhero movie fans, but to quote one of the most popular films in the genre, The Dark Knight, "the night is darkest just before the dawn," and the dawn does appear to be coming. 1997's awful superhero movie year was followed by Blade, which kicked off a new age of superhero movies. Just after 2007's back-to-back disappointments of Ghost Rider, Spider-Man 3, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, 2008 had both Iron Man and The Dark Knight, which redefined the superhero genre in a way audiences still feel today. 2025 could be the comeback year for the superhero genre with both critics and audiences.
After only releasing one superhero movie in 2024, the MCU is back in full force in 2025 with three titles: Captain America: Brave New World on February 14, Thunderbolts* on May 2, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25. Meanwhile, James Gunn's DCU will finally kick off on the big screen with the highly anticipated Superman, a movie that looks to not only reboot the most famous superhero of all time but give the DC brand a new lease on life and pave the way for future titles like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, The Brave and the Bold, and Dynamic Duo in the future.
✕ Remove Ads Related The Best Superhero Movies Since Avengers: Endgame, Ranked
The superhero movie genre's death has been greatly exaggerated; there have been plenty of great films since Avengers: Endgame.
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While 2024 was filled with anti-heroes like Venom, Deadpool, The Crow, and Hellboy, villains like The Joker, or whatever Madame Web was, 2025 will see a return of a classic superhero, particularly one of hope. Superman will feature the title character and Krypto the Superdog, Metamorpho, Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner's Green Lantern, and Mister Terrific. As the original Captain America was the moral center of the MCU, Sam Wilson's Captain America looks to do the same thing. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is taking a retro 1960s futurism design scheme to capture that hopeful pop optimism of the era. Thunderbolts* certainly is the odd title out here, but with Marvel Studios giving it the prime first weekend of May release date, they think it will be a fun time at the movies for audiences to kick off the summer.
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After disappointments like The Marvels and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom closed out in 2023, and all of 2024 has been a mixed bag for the superhero genre, 2025, hopefully, will be the year the genre rebounds. The lineup for 2025 certainly is more exciting than 2024's offerings were this time last year, so there is hope. Maybe this year's disappointing offerings will make fans appreciate what comes next more.