10 Ways That The Marvel Cinematic Universe Has Ruined Cinema

2. Franchises Threaten Movies As "Art"

The truth is that huge franchise movies make it harder and harder for independent and art house movies to thrive. The MCU isn't the only culprit in this regard, but its popularity and success certainly hasn't helped matters. The problem, of course, is that the situation is one that will likely get worse before it gets better. And even then there's no guarantee that things will get better (in fact, it's entirely unlikely, given how popular superhero and comic book flicks are). But as the MCU continues to thrive, pulling in close to a billion dollars with every feature, other studios will simply follow their lead. Which means that, ultimately, there's less room for other movies to exist. Not only that, but with every additional (and likely mediocre) superhero movie that finds its way into theatres, cinema in general becomes inherently less interesting. Can the cinema be labelled as a true art-form if every movie to come out of the medium is a blockbuster packaged within an inch of its life to make money? As a product bred for a single purpose - to pull in as much cash as possible, regardless of things like substance and quality? Truth is, mass franchises tend to give cinema a bad name. In the past, such criticisms tended to sound unfair and prejudice. After all, it was entirely possible for blockbusters to work as art, too. Think of Star Wars, or Indiana Jones, or Jaws. Now, though, more than ever, the bad-mouthing of huge blockbuster franchises feels fair.