13 Problems Nobody Wants To Admit About The DC Movie Universe

7. The Serious Tone Limits Box Office Prospects

The Problem: One of the biggest complaints about the MCU is that the comical tone means it's hard to ever get invested in the stakes of a villain invading Earth: we always know that the superheroes will stop the humans from dying, and by the end of most Marvel movies, the status quo is pretty much restored. Now, Man Of Steel avoided this by showcasing the colossal destruction of Metropolis in which surely many, many people died. Batman V Superman is clearly also going to touch on this, and how many citizens view Superman as a menace due to Zod's arrival. The flip-side, though, is that the dark tone is also sure to limit its box office performance. Yes, Man Of Steel made close to $700 million worldwide and the billion-dollar success of The Dark Knight Trilogy is well-documented, but there's a reason why both Avengers movies have soared far past the $1 billion mark: their tone is light enough that kids and adults both want to watch them. DC's slate so far doesn't suggest they're going to strike the same note with audiences. How To Fix It: Granted, this is an issue for Warner rather than audiences, and hopefully the studio won't be expecting the DCEU to make as much money as the MCU, because the tone clearly seems to be less child-permissive. If Warner are happy to make 50-65% of what the MCU has made, then the downcast tone isn't a problem, but knowing how money-hungry these companies can be, that may not be enough for their coffers.