‘SUPER’ FANS RULE AT THE BOX OFFICE
By Errol Ellis
The niche that comic books have created in film has not been taken seriously by film critics because of their childlike imagery but if money talks, earning almost $1 billion at the box office in only 143 days speaks much louder than the lukewarm movie reviews.
One of the most successful comic book characters to pass over to film is Batman. Batman’s transition to film has been one in which fans of the genre watch very carefully after the huge success of the “Batman” film from 1989.
At the time, the film earned $411 million internationally during its theatrical run. As more Batman films were released, fans started seeing their beloved “Caped Crusader” going from the dark and distant character of comic books being turned into a gimmick.
With the original 1989 “Batman” earning a substantial amount over the $35 million budget, the film was considered a success. On the other hand when “Batman & Robin” was introduced in 1997, the film was considered a failure by box office standards and fans alike. The film earned $238 million on a budget of $125 million. Fans did not support Batman & Robin after receiving updates of the film before its official release.
Some action figures owned by superhero fan Daris Akers. (Photo by Errol Ellis)
When fans think of a great or “true to the source” adapted comic book movie, there are certain things that come into play. Comic book collector Daris Akers says, “The actor/actress must resemble the comic book character, the costume in the film must be the costume from the comic book series and using a famous actor isn’t always the way to go.”
During a recent conversation at “Forbidden Planet” located on 840 Broadway, a fan on his weekly trip to the famous comic book shop, Standley Charles, discussed the failures of “Fantastic Four” and its sequel and then turned to successful film released this year, “ Iron Man. ”
“The fact that they picked Robert Downey Jr. to play Tony Starks in was a good choice because everything was on point throughout the entire movie. He actually played the ‘party guy lifestyle.’ You could even say he was playing himself to a certain extent,” Charles said.
When the character is altered for film far beyond what the comic book character was, fans of the genre will not support the film and will do their best to spread the word that has the ability to cause fans and non-followers to refrain from seeing the film.
“As soon as the studio’s stop listening to the fan base, stop looking at the comic books origin, making up their own story and things as they go along…the film pretty much turns to crap,” said comic book aficionado Darin Bourne.
During a recent interview with Bourne, he expressed how he was once a “die-hard” collector of comic books in his early childhood but as he grew older, his collection began to dwindle due to lack of reading time. His knowledge for comic books still remains fairly strong.
One studio that finally decided to listen to the fans was Warner Bros. After fans stopped supporting the film versions of the “Batman” series, the general public who didn’t have a special interest in the Caped Crusader also didn’t have an interest for the series.
Co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, Batman who is considered one of the most successful comic book characters for the better half of seven decades somehow turned into box officer blunder under the watch of director Joel Schumacher.
In January of 2003, the cries of huge Batman fans like Akers around the world did not fall on deaf ears because Warner Bros. hired the director of “Memento” to produce a new twist on the “Batman” series.
“Memento” is a critically acclaimed psychological thriller released in 2000 directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby. Although not a comic book adapted film, the direction Nolan took “Memento” and its closely adapted psychological theme with the Batman universe is what spiked the interest of fans.
Warner Bros. yearned for a new spin on the “Batman” series that would not only arouse the sleeping fans of recent “Batman” flops but also critics of the genre.
With word of mouth spreading at film festivals and comic book conventions such as the hugely popular “Comic-Con International: San Diego ,” which is an annual multi-genre convention, fans were pleased with the choice of director. With film critics also pleased with Nolan’s vision in “Memento,” they were open to the idea of seeing his direction with the “Batman” series.
PODCAST: THE FANS SPEAK
In 2005, Nolan’s vision for Batman premiered in “Batman Begins,” the reception by fans of the genre helped generate a buzz for those who gave up on the series after Batman & Robin.
One of the most acclaimed critics James Berardinelli, who writes for such as “Reelmovies.net” and “Rottontomatoes.com”, gave the film a positive review. During his review of the film, Berardinelli said, “Nolan takes the series out of the slam-bang Hollywood joke fests the franchise had drifted into.”
“Batman Begins” went in a completely opposite direction from the previous two films in the “Batman series” as Warner Bros. wanted. According to the director of the “Batman” (1989) and “Batman Return” (1992), Tim Burton enjoyed the adaption of “Batman Begins.”
What makes Burton ’s feedback such a substantial one, he turned down “Batman Forever” as well as “Batman & Robin” for the sole purpose of disliking the new direction.
“Nolan captured the real spirit that these kinds of movies are supposed to have nowadays. When I did ‘Batman’ 20 years ago, in 1988 or something, it was a different time in comic book movies. You couldn’t go into that dark side of comics yet. The last couple of years that has become acceptable and Nolan certainly got more to the root of what the Batman comics are about,” said Burton during an interview with USA Today in 2005.
After “Batman Begins” earned almost $400 million internationally at the box office, fans were once more pleased with its direction and the dark nature in which Nolan took the film expressed to critics that comic books are not only for children.
Fans were now anticipating the sequel because they saw the potential of Nolan. Those who were not fans of comic books did not turn out to support the genre because like fans who gave up on the character because of misdirection, “regular” movie-goers gave up on the series because the movies were simply horrible, comic book adapted or not.
Nolan showed how understanding what fans wanted from a comic book film director and remaining true to the source material can do to regain confidence.
With Nolan’s sequel to “Batman Begins” underway, the marketing campaign was huge. The buzz stemmed from internet blogs on such comic book sites as “comicbookmovie.com” and “superherohype.com” to eventually spilling over on to mainstream outlets such as “The Wall Street Journal” and “The New York Times.”
With the help of an entertainment group called 42 Entertainment, the studio created a viral campaign with the catch phrase of one of the film’s villains, “Why So Serious?” A website was dedicated to the phrase as well as another website dedicated to Harvey Dent who is running for District Attorney in the film, with the caption “I Believe in Harvey Dent.”
Another aspect of the viral campaign included a link that would direct fans of the film to a page that if rearranged correctly, they would be able to see the first photo of “The Joker,” Batman’s most famous villain.
The biggest segment of the viral campaign came in the form of a scavenger hunt that started on the film’s website with clues that would send fans within major cities throughout the streets interpreting data that could lead them to a specific location with a surprise at the end.
With completing the scavenger hunt, some fans were greeted with the official trailer of the film before its official release and others were shown the Batman symbol alongside the city’s tallest building.
One individual who visited the scavenger hunt was Akers who along with all other fans of the film decided to make a pact. The pact among fans would help push Nolan’s sequel to “Batman Begins” ahead of the current box office champ…Titanic.
In order to beat the current champ, fans would have to see “The Dark Knight” multiple times during its theatrical run. “I’m going to see this movie at least 10 times before it leaves theaters,” Akers said.
With villains being the counterpart for the protagonist, Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker generated the most buzz about this film. His vision along with Nolan’s was such a sinister portrayal of The Joker, only fans of the comic book could appreciate because this portrayal was only known in comic books.
The portrayal of The Joker in the Burton ’s film of 1989 was a more humorous one, but word of mouth spread from fans about the new portrayal that eventually reached the general population of movie-goers and movie critics that spiked an interest in seeing the film.
With Ledger’s accidental overdose, a far greater number of viewers were interested in viewing his final portrayal to see whether the buzz would live up to hype and it surely did because Ledger has the ability to win an Academy Award for best supporting actor.
Comic book films have not been respected whatsoever at the Academy Awards, but with the adult-like and dark spin for “The Dark Knight” and not to mention almost earning $1 billion at the box office, if the awards show wishes to boost ratings, Ledger has to at least be nominated.
What caused the box office total of “The Dark Knight” to generate such a substantial increase from “Batman Begins” was the energy created by fans in every way possible to help push the box office sum above the current champ, the death of Heath Ledger and Nolan’s persistence on remaining true to the fan base.
The success of “The Dark Knight” has pushed other directors of comic book films such as Zack Snyder who will direct the 2009 highly anticipated graphic novel “Watchmen,” Jon Favreau who will continue directing “Iron Man” and the renowned graphic novelist Frank Miller who will direct “The Spirit” have garnered a fan base.
Only time will tell if their level of viral campaigns and marketing will help drive an extensive fan based following as The Dark Knight, enough to generate a huge box office turnout of both fans and new followers of the genre.
With “The Spirit” being released on Christmas Day, it doesn’t seem the marketing has set any precedent as “The Dark Knight.” The trailers for “The Spirit” don’t seem to do the comic book any justice because “comicbookmovie.com” and fans of the site are not excited about Miller’s newly adapted film.