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(Mark Rufalo, left), (Chris Evans), (Chris Hems- worth), (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and (Jeremy Renner) are pictured in “: Age of .” COURTESy/

By JAMES ROyAL | World Scene Writer

arvel Entertainment has long been Since its irst release in 2008, one of the top two companies in the boasts seven movies that have made more than world, and in the past $500,000 million at the oice, ive since HOW Mthree years, Marvel has become one 2011. Prior to 2011, only three movies based of the top forces in Hollywood, as well. on Marvel characters could say that: Sony’s For years, Marvel used licensing deals to get “Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Spider- its biggest characters into movies, leading to a Man 3.” fractured existence where Spider-Man was at And Marvel has redeined the entertainment one studio, the X-Men another and the Hulk at world with its “ concept,” where a completely diferent one. (For more on that, and TV shows exist in the same CONQUERED see below.) world like Marvel’s comic books. Other studios In 2004, Marvel took what characters it are following this example with DC, Transform- had left and started making its own movies. A ers, Ghostbusters and other franchises. string of successes ensued during “Phase One” With “Avengers: ” hitting the- of its studio oferings, but when “Marvel’s The aters this week, we take a look at the 36 movies Avengers” hit theaters in 2012, the company’s based on characters and how HOLLYWOOD success reached unseen levels. Marvel’s movies have grown over the years. MARVEL-BASED MOVIE WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE TOTALS $1.5 billion Sony’s “Spider-Man” (2002) showed “Marvel’s The Avengers” (2012) is the line that “” (2013) Marvel’s characters could be turned into marks the jump in success of comic book ilms, made $1.2 billion blockbusters, swinging to $822 million especially those based on Marvel characters. worldwide to join “The worldwide. Sony followed with hits in Before “The Avengers,” only movies in the Spider- Avengers,” “The Dark “Spider-Man 2” (2004, $784 mil- Man and Iron Man franchses had topped the Knight” and “The Dark lion worldwide) and “Spider-Man 3” $500 million mark. Since “The Avengers,” only Knight Rises” as the only (2007, $891 million). one Marvel-based movie has made less than half a comic book ilms to top billion, ’s “The ” (2013, $414 million). the $1 billion mark. $1 billion The has been a comic fan favorite since his The movie that start- Fox’s irst Marvel “X-Men: ” as debut in The Amazing Spider-Man 129 in 1974, but ed it all, “Howard the ilm was a hit, with (2014) was the irst Fox-produced Wolverine he hasn’t been much of a draw on the big screen. Duck” (1986), was “X-Men” (2000) Marvel movie to top $500 million. in “X2: “” (2004) made just $54.7 million, and a bomb, bringing in bringing in $296 X-Men the character’s reboot in “Punisher: War Zone” (2008) just under $38 mil- million. The fran- United” made $10.1 million, the biggest bomb of any movie lion of a $37 million chise has gone on based on a Marvel property. production budget. to gross $3.1 billion. $500 million Hulk Thor X-Men Blade II Iron Man Iron Big Hero 6 Big Hero Iron Man 3 Iron Iron Spider-Man Rider Ghost Blade: Trinity The Punisher Spider-Man 3 Spider-Man Spider-Man 2 Spider-Man Fantastic The Wolverine Howard X2: X-Men United X2: X-Men X-Men: First Class First X-Men:

STUDIO KEy Hulk The Incredible Punisher: War Zone Punisher: War Thor: The Dark World X-Men: The Last Stand The Last X-Men:

Universal Pictures Lionsgate Entertainment Marvel's The Avengers of Guardians The Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Studios Origins: Wolverine X-Men X-Men: Days of Future Past Future of Days X-Men: 20th Century Fox Disney 2 The Amazing Spider-Man

Sony/ Vengeance Rider: Spirit of Ghost

Courtesy and ile photos Avenger America: The First Captain Captain America: The Winter Solider America: The Winter Captain

Fantastic Four: Rise of the the Silver Rise of Four: Fantastic Sources: boxoicemojo.com; .com

So far, Marvel is winning the Why can’t Wolverine be character dormant with no war with DC/Warner Bros. in an Avengers movie? ilm in development for a given BY THE NUMBERS A look at how Marvel-based amount of time, the character movies stack up against their Thanks to a deal between would revert back to Marvel. MARVEL vs. DC DC counterparts: Sony and Marvel, fans will Thanks to that clause, Marvel inally get to see Spider-Man has regained the rights to Dare- in an Avengers ilm, but un- devil, , the Punisher, Full-length feature ilms $16.8 billion less Fox and Marvel strike a Elektra and others. based on Marvel Comics similar deal, we won’t be seeing And thanks to a deal struck characters released in Combined worldwide box Scarlett Johannson has appeared in 36 Wolverine or any of his X-Men between Marvel and Sony, U.S. theaters since 1986. oice gross for three Marvel ilms as the Black Widow. cohorts palling around with Iron which owns the ilm rights to Marvel-based ilms Spider-Man, Marvel will be pro- Full-length feature ilms based Man and Captain America. ducing the wall-crawler’s next on DC Comics characters Beating out Why not? Put simply, Marvel 22 $5.8 billion movie, and we’ll be seeing him released in U.S. since 1966. doesn’t own the movie rights Combined Sure, Iron Man is hands down the big- in a future Avengers ilm. to some of its best characters. worldwide box gest moneymaker for Marvel Studios. What about Marvel’s other Beginning in the 1970s, the oice gross for Robert Downey Jr. has reprised the role of characters? Here’s a rough Marvel-based “The Avengers” company licensed rights to its DC-based ilms Tony Stark in ive ilms that have combined breakdown of who owns whom: $1.5 billion characters for movies because franchises to make $4.2 billion at the box oice, a Sony: Spider-Man and deriva- it didn’t have the capital to fund The Avengers number that will skyrocket with “Avengers: tive characters (, Doctor a ilm itself. dominate, “The Dark Age of Ultron.” Octopus, Black Cat, Mary Jane DC-based The early licenses didn’t go but other Knight Rises” But on a per-ilm basis, Scarlett Johans- Watson, etc.) fran- franchises $1.1 billion son beats out all of her male Avengers well. Spider-Man was optioned Fox: The X-Men, , chises Warner Bros. teammates. Johansson has played the in the late ’70s, but a movie , Wolverine, and all other have has yet Black Widow/Natasha Romanof in three was never made in the allot- mutants and related charac- had to ind Marvel ilms before “Age of Ultron” (“Iron ted timeframe, so the rights ters; the Fantastic Four, Doctor their success Man 2,” “The Avengers” and “Captain reverted back to Marvel. Then Doom and related characters share of outside America: The Winter Soldier”). Those three “Howard the Duck” was li- Lionsgate: Man-Thing success. of Bat- ilms averaged $952 million at the box of- censed to Universal and tanked Shared rights: Marvel has man and ice. Not bad for a character that hasn’t had at the box oice. rights to the Hulk, but Universal Super- Marvel licensed other Avengers-related movies: $6.6 billion a ilm. Pictures has distribution rights man. Spider-Man-related movies: $4 billion characters in the late 1980s for the character. the X-Men-related movies: $3.1 billion Combined worldwide box oice total by Avenger and early ’90s, resulting in two Submariner’s rights are back Guardians of the Galaxy: $774 million Includes all movies the character Iron Man (5): ilms — “The Punisher” (1989) with Marvel but are limited. has appeared in. Number of movies and “Captain America” (1990) Big Hero 6: $652 million -related movies: $6.6 billion in parentheses. $4.2 billion Marvel: Pretty much everyone Fantastic Four movies: $619 million -related movies: $4 billion Captain America (4): — that received international else $3.3 billion releases but were direct-to-vid- What about Quicksilver and the Other: $1.1 billion Other movies: $400 million The Hulk (4): eo releases in the U.S. Another Witch? These characters $3.2 bullion ilm — “The Fantastic Four“ Black Widow (3): are mutants, and Quicksilver is $2.9 billion (1993) — was produced but in both “X-Men: Days of Future But that’s not all ... Thor (3): never released. Past” and “Avengers: Age of $2.6 billion After Marvel iled for Ultron.” The main Marvel comic line has seen The biggest moneymaker of the lot Hawkeye (2): bankruptcy protection in 1996, How did this happen? plenty of success on the big screen, but was the “” franchise, based $1.5 billion the company formed Marvel Basically, Marvel argued that Marvel has also published other non- of an Aircel/Malibu comic book. The Studios, which actively pursued because the twins have a comics over the years, -led blockbusters brought Average worldwide box oice total by Avenger licensing agreements for sev- strong tie to the Avengers (the and some of them have fared pretty in a combined $1.7 billion for Sony Includes all movies the character Black Widow (3): eral characters and teams with pair joined the team in 1965 has appeared in. Number of movies multiple studios. This move well as feature ilms. Pictures. in parentheses. $952 million and have been seen in Aveng- Thor (3): maximized how much money ers comics more than X-Men FILM RELEASE STUDIO DOMESTIC WORLDWIDE $870 million Marvel would make but divided books), they counted as Aveng- Men in Black July 2, 1997 Sony Columbia $250.7 million $589.4 million Iron Man (5): its characters across diferent ers characters and Marvel had Men in Black II July 3, 2002 Sony Columbia $190.4 million $441.8 million $841 million companies, meaning it would rights. Because they debuted Captain America (4): Kick-Ass April 16, 2010 Lionsgate $48 million $96.2 million be unlikely for some combina- in the pages of the original MIB 3 May 25, 2012 Sony Columbia $179 million $624 million $812 million The Hulk (4): tions to be seen together on the X-Men comic and are mutants, Kick-Ass 2 Aug. 16, 2013 Universal Studios $28.8 million $60.8 million $810 million big screen. Fox claims the rights, as well. : The Secret Service Feb. 13, 2015 Fox $126.5 million $399.6 million Hawkeye (2): One clause in all these deals Neither studio sued, so both TOTALS $823.4 million $2.21 billion $759 million stated that if a studio left a got to use the characters.