All-Time World Wide Gross

#4 The Dark Knight (2008) $1 billion

All-Time Domestic Gross

#2 The Dark Knight (2008) $533 million #8 Spiderman (2002) $403 million

Recent Surge of Comic-Adaptations

Number of Marvel/DC/Dark Horse comic adaptations 1944-1999=21 films over 25 years Number of Marvel/DC/Dark Horse comic adaptations 2000-2009=29 films over 10 years (From BoxOfficeMojo)

Origin

These figures sure do say a lot, but they are, to be quite honest, quite boring. So if you haven’t noticed the sheer number of comic-to-film adaptations being put out lately, well, now you have. The past 10 years have seen a surge in the number of films based off of comic adaptations. Why? It’s simple, really. Hollywood saw that the comic adaptation could be its next veritable cash cow and it truly has if recent box office numbers mean anything.

It all began with X-Men (2000) and Spiderman (2002). Not the best of the crop but humble beginnings, to be sure. These movies weren’t bad by any means, but they did show that the comic-adaptation could net a considerable profit which was a crucial step forward for the genre. Crucial because this gave Hollywood the incentive it needed to further pursue and produce more comic book movies. After these two movies released studios began buying out movie rights for every comic property they could get their hands on. This is exactly why both X-Men and Spiderman went on to make numerous sequels while opening the door for a whole slew of other comic related adaptations.

Great Power and Responsibility

So with this comic boom, not only were mainstream comics getting the star treatment, but lesser known but equally compelling tales were getting their fifteen minutes of fame as well. The power of the comic-adaptation was growing.

As Hollywood dug deeper into this new found treasure chest of comics they started developing less commonly known stories; two of the more important ones worth mentioning are Sin City (2005) and 300 (2006). Both of these books held within them the most brutally violent and mature story lines ever to be translated to film. And therein lays the first reason why I say that they are worth mentioning; the content of these two books helped to dismiss the stigma that comic books were a children’s hobby, a hobby that some adults just never outgrew. This was a stigma that, no doubt, would have turned away a large demographic of viewers. The second and equally important claim that both these books can make is that they were slavishly faithful to the source material. In both cases Frank Miller, creator of Sin City and 300, played a heavy hand in the production of the films. So, as you can imagine, the films never stray far from the comics.

This new-found fidelity to source material is an integral part of Hollywood’s comic-adaptation behemoth. It was a very responsible choice, both to the writers and the fans. There are hundreds of great stories already out there that are just waiting to make the leap to the silver-screen. Fan-boy ranting aside, the recent crop of comic adaptations has been and probably will continue to be faithful recreations of already beloved comic book arcs.

“It’s not about money… it’s about sending a message.”

Joker, The Dark Knight

Sure, holding box office records does look pretty impressive on paper but even Beverly Hills Chihuahua came out on top its opening weekend. Of course that is not to say that money grossed is not indicative of success. In many cases it is. The point here is that there is an important distinction to be made between commercial and critical success. One does not equate to the other. Furthermore, it is rare to see a film which enjoys both of those successes; most films have one or the other.

Now this is where The Dark Knight (2008) comes in. This is one of those rare films that, as mentioned, have garnered both critical and commercial success. Coming in at the 4^th most money-making movie ever makes this film commercially very successful. But critics, too, found it worthy of their praise. The amount of awards that The Dark Knight has both won and been nominated for is so great that its Wikipedia page suggests a new article be created for it. The tightly woven and highly complex story of Batman’s fall from grace was the first truly brilliant film based off of a comic book. It is easily considered the greatest comic-adaptation ever made and a total testament to the strength of the comic medium as a whole.

The Future

So what does this mean for fans, both old and new? Well, it means a lot if this genre of film keeps up its current pace. The most obvious thing to look forward to is, of course, more movies. On a larger scale, however, fans can look forward to all encompassing “events.” These are story arcs that involve and affect everyone in a given universe, for example, the Civil War event which takes place in Marvel’s canon of superheroes. Now that Hollywood has introduced us to a decent amount of Marvel’s major players they can start to undertake grander story arcs like Civil War. In short, this is the most popularity and mainstream acceptance the comic medium has ever enjoyed and things only look like they are going to get better. It’s only a matter of time before another Dark Knight caliber film touches ground so until then true believers will just have to keep on reading.

Rainbow Connection Staff Writer- Drew Shinjo