Marvel Movies vs DC Movies

Want to know the best Marvel Movies and DC Movies?  How about the worst Marvel Movies and DC Movies?  Curious about Marvel Movies and DC Movies’ box office grosses or which Marvel Movies and DC Movies picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Marvel Movies and DC Movies got the best reviews from critics and audiences…how about which ones got the worst reviews? Well, you have come to the right place…. because we have all of that information.

As a kid I remember always hearing about which comic book company was the best.   Many of my friends were in the DC comic camp. Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and of course the classic Saturday morning cartoon, Justice League of America (1973-1986), were the strengths of their argument. My favorite superhero was Spider-Man, who was and still is one of Marvel comics most popular superheroes….so that put me in the less crowded camp of Marvel. As an adult the same argument seems to be still being asked…only now it is which comic company is bringing the best superhero movies to the big screen.

This Marvel Movies vs DC Movies page will look at the DC/Marvel movies that have released in theaters and will be ranked by box office grosses, critical reception and award recognition. Also included in this page are 10 possibly interesting facts about DC/Marvel comics and movies. Finally, there is a Marvel Movies vs DC Movies section that compares each companies’ average results.

Christopher Reeve's Superman is still standing tall in the rankings almost 40 years later.
Christopher Reeve’s Superman is still standing tall in the rankings almost 40 years later.

Marvel Movies vs DC Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (0 to 5 stars) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards. (Main stat table follows)

Marvel Movies vs DC Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by either Marvel or DC.
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by worldwide yearly box office rank
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Marvel Movie and DC Movie received.
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
2014's Guardians of the Galaxy...yet another smash for Marvel Movies
2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy…yet another smash for Marvel Movies

Possibly Interesting Facts About Marvel Movies vs DC Movies

1. DC (Detective Comics) was formed in 1934. Marvel Comics was formed in 1939. Currently these two companies have a 80% share of the comic book market.

2. DC’s first big successes were when they introduced Superman in 1938 and Batman in 1939. Marvel’s first big successes were the introductions of the Fantastic Four in 1961, Spiderman in 1962 and the X-Men in 1963.

3. DC’s first superhero big screen adaptation was 1966’s Batman the Movie starring Adam West as Batman. Marvel’s first big screen movie was 1986’s Howard the Duck which was produced by George Lucas.

4. DC had the first big successes on the big screen. The Superman franchise that started in 1978 and their Batman franchise that started in 1989 became some of the biggest box office hits of all-time.. Marvel had to wait until 2002’s Spiderman before they got to experience the massive box office success that DC had been receiving.

5. Since 2002…..Marvel has become the king of the superhero box office…..although DC has the successful Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy in their corner….Marvel can boast the Iron Man franchise, The Avengers franchise, the Captain America franchise, the Thor franchise and X-Men franchise.

6. Only two superhero movie have been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar® nomination (Joker & Black Panther)……..there have been two superhero movies that have earned Worst Picture of the year awards…..1986’s Howard the Duck and 2004’s Catwoman.

7. Want to know how big Marvel movies have become? The Disney company bought the rights of the Marvel movies and other Marvel properties for 4.4 billion dollars in 2009.

Heath Ledger in DC's The Dark Knight (2008)
Heath Ledger in DC’s The Dark Knight (2008)
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. 
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160 thoughts on “Marvel Movies vs DC Movies”

  1. It’s funny. No matter how CGI fantastic later versions are, my 9 year old is still an avid watcher of his Incredible Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) and Lois and Clark DVDS. I love it.

    Reply

  2. Nice and informative page Cogerson. Thumbs up. Although I’m surprised that Spiderman 3 and Ironman # ranked so high in the box office, neither were very good in my opinion. Thought Wolverine Origins would have been ranked higher, loved that movie. But that’s just me.

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  3. it’ll be interesting to see where man of steel ends up on this list after a few weeks. I don’t see why some critics hated the film though to be honest, as it was a helluva a lot better than “superman returns” in my opinion, but whatever. However to be honest, im not sure how well x-men days of future’s past will do next year though considering the whole controversy behind both that film and avengers 2 using quicksilver; which has already sparked loads of controversy with comic fans. and to make it more confusing, it sounds like both studios will use different actors for the same character, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.

    i know some fans are saying that singer is ripping off whedon because he barely announced quicksilver would be in the next x-men movie until after whedon announced he would be in avengers 2 earlier this year. however, xmen days of future’s past has already been well into production for a while now, so it’s next to impossible that singer ripped off whedon, as he’s still writing the script for the avengers 2.

    However, it seems comic book fans are siding with Whedon by calling it a douche move by Singer. I could be wrong about this, as I have nothing to base this on, except gut intuition. However, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised that there’s another boycott against the next x-men film because of this quicksilver controversy. I could be wrong, and I hope I am. However, i wouldn’t be surprised.

    But then again, “The Wolverine” may end up becoming a huge hit this summer, which may be the publicity that the next x-men film needs to make everyone forget about that controversy. however, we’ll have to wait and see.

    in case you’re wondering who quicksilver is, I don’t know if you follow the x-men comics or not, but he’s magneto’s son. Even though fox studios owns the film rights to all of the x-men characters, there’s a special deal for Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver though because they also have ties with the avengers, in the comics as well.

    Fox can use them as long as they never reference them ever being apart of the avengers period. Whereas Marvel Studios, they can use them too, but they can’t make any references to their relation to magneto at all, nor is marvel studios allowed to mention they’re mutants.

    and to make it even worse, marvel studios can only call them by their real names which are Wanda and Pietro; whereas fox can use their superhero names and real names. Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see how this shakes out. I’m hoping Kevin Fiege or someone at marvel studios forces whedon to not use scarlett witch and quicksilver like they did last time to replace wasp with black widow, for the avengers film. however, if whedon gets his wish, I have a strong hunch it’s not going to be a good sign for singer.

    Most fans already don’t like the guy as much as it is these days, so it’ll be interesting if the next x-men movie becomes a hit or not.

    Reply

    1. Hey Stevennix2001….thanks for all the information in your comment. Sounds like Disney and Fox are going to keep their legal departments busy as they fight over copyright rules on their upcoming movies.

      I think Wolverine will be close to the last Wolverine movie…make a ton of movie and then be forgotten.

      I think Man Of Steel will end up in the mid teens on this list….the way the shelf life is on movies…Man of Steel will lose lots of heat when World War Z and Monsters University open this weekend….and I have noticed that even it’s IMDB score is going down every few hours.

      I read that the success of Man of Steel will be one of the deciding factors if Christian Bale will appear in the Justice League movie…if it makes a ton…then they will not need Bale….if it struggles(400 to 500 million compared to 1 billion worldwide)…then they will pay Bale whatever it takes to get him back in the Batman suit.

      As for Singer….it seems he lost all of his good will from superhero fans over the last few years….and now Wheldon, Snyder, Nolan and Fiege are the powerbrokers in these type of movies.

      Reply

  4. I saw the new Superman movie this past weekend… interesting, but I am not sure it lives up to the hype. I have to admit, I am a Batman girl myself. The Dark Knight is the best superhero movie in my opinion. 🙂

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    1. Hey Jeannieinabottle….thanks for stopping by. I agree with you about The Dark Knight…it is the best superhero movie ever. As for Superman, I am thinking maybe his character might be better in a supporting role like the Hulk was in The Avengers. Hulk’s full length movies were pretty ordinary….but his supporting role in The Avengers was one of the highlights. I could see Superman going down the same road in the much rumored Justice League movie.

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  5. Hey Nell….glad to see you understand the heated debate between Marvel and DC fans….I remember when they actually had a comic that featured Spidey fighting Superman….I was rooting for Spiderman as I am sure you were rooting for Superman…now that would make a good movie. It is a shame you sold them….the older the comic the more worth they have to collectors…I still have my somewhere….probably my mom’s house….but I treated them way too rough to worth much…but those memories of reading those comics is priceless….thanks for stopping and thanks for the votes.

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    1. Hey tillsontitan….thanks for the visit and the comment. Big Lou was my favorite part of The Hulk tv show…I like when they include him in all the remakes…granted it is in a small capacity but they do not forget him.

      Reply

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