Will Marvel, DC Stand Down or Hold Their Ground in 2016?

As I’m sure you’ve already heard, in Summer of 2016 DC and Marvel plan to go toe-to-toe at the box office on the same weekend. Marvel has a third, unnamed Captain America film in the works; DC has the much-anticipated “Batman v. Superman” (Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill), the sequel to last summer’s mega-hit “Man of Steel” (Henry Cavill). What happens at the box office will, in large part, be determined by (A) whether or not one side decides to budge and change their release date, and (B) if they don’t, whether or not fans decide to go and see only one movie or the other.

Whether Marvel or DC decide to change their release date for their respective movie may very well be a simple matter of time. It’s highly unusual for two superhero movies to be released in the same weekend. Both studios probably are going to figure out, if they haven’t already, that this would impact their ticket sales. The pressure of the “who blinks first” scenario may cause one studio to back down and move their date. On the other hand, the press that the simple announcement of the date has stirred up already at this point may be exactly what they both want; as the old saying goes, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” If the world is focused on these two studios, then they’ll both benefit big-time when the fans and the news media start to compare the two films against each other. You can’t tell if the hype was justified until after you’ve paid to see the movie, so if they stay the course and people decide to see both, DC and Marvel are going to have one incredible payday two years from now.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Captain America: The First Avenger” earned $371 million in ticket sales worldwide when it was released, as compared to $668 million for the first Superman film, “Man of Steel,” which was released in the summer of last year.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” releases on April 4, 2014, with Chris Evans returning for the main role. This movie will be a good gauge for the success of the third installment in the “Captain America” trilogy. If the film does well on its release date, which it more than likely will, Marvel and DC may very well be in for the longest heroic stare-down we’ve ever seen.