How many comic book movies are too many comic book movies? The answer comes in the name Jonah Hex, a film that had close to no demand to be brought to the silver screen, but was made with the DC seal of approval, what should be a shining endorsement in the day and age of comic book movies. Unfortunately, it’s seal now stands for, “comic book adaptation equals quick return on investment,” and that wasn’t even true since Jonah Hex was unequivocally the first box office bomb of 2010, ranking 8th in its opening weekend and only generating a meager (relative to summer blockbuster standard, at least) $5.8 million. Even with the tough guy acting chops of Josh Brolin, the T&A of Megan Fox (sadly one of the biggest attractions of the Transformers films), and odd-ball draw of John Malkovich (with his role being widely panned as the worst of his career), Jonah Hex didn’t even come close to ranking in the top 5 films of its weekend. The apathy towards the film was so abysmal that an enter-to-win box for free tickets at Star Clipper only had a pathetic 14 entries, with only 3 customers actually picking their free tickets up. Who knows if they actually used the passes? When there is this type of indifference towards a film like Jonah Hex, what does it say about the state of comic book movies?

This was not the first instance this summer of a general lack of interest towards comic book films. Kick Ass got the summer started and though it rank number one at the box office in its opening weekend it just barely won the top position, which is unfortunate because I really liked this one. The Loser was another movie that came and went without any real understanding as to why it was made in the first place (any producer that thought a film titled The Losers would resonate with a middle-America audience needs to be fired immediately). Obviously, Iron Man 2 is the exception of this argument, being that it is the top film of the summer thus far. By now, it should be clear however that for every good comic film that comes out, the market is also oversaturated with multiple mediocre films to flat out failures. I think this rush for a quick short-term profit generated by a completely forgettable film is only going to hurt the comic industry in the long run, as is being demonstrated for the lack of interest in the source material i.e. comics (people just weren’t clamoring for the Losers section since the rushed film only created a bad taste for it’s source).

There are a lot of issues here… First and foremost, if there is no demand for a comic-to-film adaptation i.e. Jonah Hex, why make it? That money could have been better spent elsewhere. A perfect use would be for better marketing of comic films to get it past the fanboy audience. Kick Ass suffered from a confusing marketing campaign that made the film look like a light-hearted comic book romp, not the disturbing Tarentino-esque black comedy that it actually was. The Losers bombed because of its name alone. It might appeal to the comic shop niche, but no beer drinking, good old boy is going to want to see a film about a bunch of losers even if they do totally kick ass. All this time and effort should really be used to make sure the hits aren’t just flash in the pans, but are classics. Yeah, Iron Man 2 was good, but that last fight scene left a little something to be desired. It is great comics are being considered a legitimate source for mainstream popcorn-gratification, but lets hope the film industry doesn’t get too bogged down in mediocrity or Jonah Hex’s slogan “Revenge just got ugly” might take on a whole new meaning for the comic industry as people stay away in droves.

-Jon

---

Both comments and pings are currently closed.