Why were there no superhero movies in the 80s? - Blu-ray Forum

Monterey Jack · 02-24-2019, 02:59 AM

Recently I've been wondering...considering how virtually every other hugely successful movie from the late 70s throughout the 80s generated a ton of cheap, cheesy rip-off movies (Raiders, Mad Max, Alien, Animal House, E.T., etc.), why did no one attempt to cash in on the huge box office of Superman: The Movie by greenlighting a wave of superhero movies? There wasn't another serious attempt until Tim Burton's Batman…eleven years later.

Considering how there were DOZENS of Batman knockoffs clogging multiplexes in the early-to-mid 90s (not to mention the absolute glut of superhero movies we have today), it's even more odd that not one studio was attempting to develop superhero movies for pretty much the entirety of the 80s. The only Marvel movie released during that decade was Howard The Duck.

The only time you saw anything even vaguely superhero-related back then was if it were a deliberately-ridiculous parody, like Condorman or something. Was it a question of expense, the lack of necessary F/X technology to make them look even remotely-respectable, or some other hurdle?

02-24-2019, 02:59 AM	#1
Monterey Jack Blu-ray Grand Duke Member since:Oct 2011 Trading Score:709	Why were there no superhero movies in the 80s? Recently I've been wondering...considering how virtually every other hugely successful movie from the late 70s throughout the 80s generated a ton of cheap, cheesy rip-off movies (Raiders, Mad Max, Alien, Animal House, E.T., etc.), why did no one attempt to cash in on the huge box office of Superman: The Movie by greenlighting a wave of superhero movies? There wasn't another serious attempt until Tim Burton's Batman…eleven years later. Considering how there were DOZENS of Batman knockoffs clogging multiplexes in the early-to-mid 90s (not to mention the absolute glut of superhero movies we have today), it's even more odd that not one studio was attempting to develop superhero movies for pretty much the entirety of the 80s. The only Marvel movie released during that decade was Howard The Duck. The only time you saw anything even vaguely superhero-related back then was if it were a deliberately-ridiculous parody, like Condorman or something. Was it a question of expense, the lack of necessary F/X technology to make them look even remotely-respectable, or some other hurdle?

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