2017 Was the Best Year Ever For Superhero Movies

2017 was a massive year for comic book films films, with big releases from three different studios -- Marvel Studios, Fox, and Warner Bros.. In the end, despite some minor setbacks, it ultimately proved to be the best year to date for superhero films.

Warner Bros. united the Justice League this year, Fox said goodbye to Wolverine, and Marvel Studios sent Spider-Man off on his first official Marvel Cinematic Universe adventure. And while all three of those were big moments from 2017, they're only a small portion of the superhero offerings from this past year. Despite the overall lukewarm box office, there's no denying it was an exciting year for superhero properties.

Rather than delivering projects that were more of the same, this year, the studios stepped outside of their comfort zones and allowed director's to truly leave their mark on their films. as a result, each title was able to stand out in what would have otherwise seemed to be an overcrowded year for comic book films. James Mangold's Logan kicked things off back in March with arguably one of the best superhero films ever, on par with Christopher Nolan's fantastic The Dark Knight. The film served as a goodbye to Hugh Jackman's Logan, sending the titular character on a road trip with Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier while also introducing X-23, a character that has carried the mantle of Wolverine in the comics.

What makes Logan so notable is the fact that it wasn't merely a superhero film. Mangold crafted an overall strong film that simply included characters with abilities. It was an R-rated take on the beloved X-Men, one that ended with an emotional goodbye to Jackman's Logan, who has served as the central character to Fox's X-Men universe since the beginning. It was a bleak, dystopian tale driven by the performances of its stars, perhaps most notably Hollywood newcomer Dafne Keen, who helped bring Laura/X-23 to life on the big screen.

The film was not only an improvement over Jackman's prior solo Wolverine outing, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but also a chance to build off the success of 2016's Deadpool, which proved that it's entirely possible to make an R-rated comic book film that's capable of mainstream success. While Logan didn't quite reach the box office heights of Wade Wilson's first solo film, the movie managed to pull in an impressive $616 million at the worldwide box office while also making Keen a household name.

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Logan was followed by Wonder Woman in June, a film that had plenty of obstacles to overcome along its journey to the big screen. Gal Gadot made her official debut in 2016's highly divisive Batman v Superman, a film that proved to be a step back for the DC Extended Universe following Man of Steel. Plenty of rumors surrounded Wonder Woman ahead of its June release, including some that suggested the film was a "mess."

Gadot and director Patty Jenkins quickly proved those rumors to be simply that: rumors. The film eventually premiered to high acclaim by both fans and critics alike. Not only did it mark the first major female-led superhero film released within the last decade, the film went on to smash box office expectations, surpassing the original $60 million opening weekend projections by opening to a massive $103 million. While that's a far cry from the film's DCEU predecessors, it was a major milestone for Jenkins, marking the highest opening ever for a female director.

Since it's debut, Wonder Woman, along with Logan, has continued to earn plenty of award nominations, including but not limited to, the Critic's Choice Awards, the Satellite Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

However, while Wonder Woman proved to be a sign of hope for the DCEU, Justice League showed that there was still plenty for the studio to learn. The film, which has been bashed by fans and critics alike for its poor CGI and incohesive story, is set to lose between $50-$100 million for Warner Bros. following its poor box office reception. It's unfortunate, as this marked the first live action debut of the superhero team, however, despite a step backwards with Justice League, Warner Bros. and DC are still pushing forward -- albeit with some changes -- and next year looks to be far more promising for the studio.

Then there's Marvel Studios, a company that easily had one of the strongest performances this year. Not only did it have all three of its theatrical releases cross $300 million at the domestic box office, each release also achieved $800 million at the worldwide box office. This is impressive, because prior to Thor: Ragnarok, the Thor franchise failed to even surpass $700 million at the worldwide box office. The success of Rganarok helped propel the studio past $5 billion dollars the domestic office, as well.

Outside of the box office, it was also a strong creative year for the studio as it took plenty of creative risks, such as killing off a fan-favorite character in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, and breathed new life into Thor franchise by essentially destroying it.

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment for the studio, however, was its ability to successfully reboot the Spider-Man franchise with July's Spider-Man: Homecoming. It was the the third try at bringing the beloved character to life, and the first time Spidey would lead his own solo film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many fans worried the film would underperform with so little time between the new movie and Sony's failed The Amazing Spider-Man franchise. Yet, Homecoming managed to surpass its predecessors, eventually going on to score a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes in addition to massive box office success.

Given the success with rebooting Spidey, it's not entirely surprising that Disney has since set a deal with 21st Century Fox into motion that will see it acquire the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, capping off one heck of a year for the Mouse House.

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If there's one thing this year has shown, its that while many critics have insisted superhero fatigue is very much a thing, 2017's offerings proved otherwise. Despite the lackluster performance of Justice League at the box office, for the most part, each superhero title released this year improved upon its predecessor. Which begs the question: is superhero fatigue truly a real thing, or have fans learned to demand more quality products from studios?

If you look at the box office of Wonder Woman, an origin story that pulled in an astounding $821 million at the worldwide box office, and compare it to the likes of Justice League, which will likely finish around $800 million, there's no denying that fans responded to the drop in quality by choosing to skip out on the first live-action Justice League film. On the other hand, films like Logan and Thor: Ragnarok both improved on their prior films, both critically and financially, suggesting fans will indeed come if you give them something worth showing up for.

Even while 2017 was a great year for our heroes, 2018 looks all but guaranteed to overtake it. Marvel Studios is set to kick things off with the highly anticipated Black Panther in February, with Fox following the Chadwick Boseman-starrer with New Mutants. The biggest release of 2018, however, is May's Avengers: Infinity War, which will unite the Avengers on screen with the Guardians of the Galaxy for the very first time.

Coming behind Infinity War will be the sequel to Deadpool in June, which will be quickly followed by The Incredibles 2 two weeks later, and then Ant-Man and the Wasp in July. Going into the Fall, Sony will drop Venom in October, while Fox will deliver X-Men: Dark Phoenix in November, followed by Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Aquaman in December.

Yeah, 2017 was great, but 2018 looks to be even better.