Predicting The Success Of The Next 10 Major Comic Book Movies
1. Avengers 4 (May 3, 2019)
Predicted Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86% Predicted Box Office: $1.85bn
As if expectations for the still currently-untitled Avengers 4 weren't great enough, it now has the added pressure of following up the single most successful comic book movie of all time thanks to a mammoth box office haul of over $2bn.
Make no mistake, Avengers 4 is going to make a lot of money at the box office but history has shown that when blockbuster sequels are shot and released back-to-back, the law of diminishing returns often begins to set in. Superman II, Back to the Future Part III, the last two installments in The Hobbit trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End all earned much less than their immediate predecessors, with the majority also suffering from poorer reviews as well.
Age of Ultron is the lowest-performing Avengers movie both critically and commercially, but its not like a box office total of $1.4bn and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 75% makes it a dud either. Next year's fourth installment might not be able to join Infinity War in the exclusive $2bn club, but it won't be far off.
The real test of Avengers 4 is a narrative one, and how it resets the entire MCU going forward with the old guard likely to be ushered out to let Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and Captain Marvel lead the franchise into the future.