Despite the success of superhero movies today, with DC Studios and Marvel Studios taking the lead, many are still not fond of these cinematic universes. The renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese has been shading Marvel’s comic book movies since 2019, calling its films “not cinema,” while the Logan director himself, James Mangold, believes cinematic universes are “the enemy of storytelling.” Now, former X-Men star Brian Cox blames cinema’s declines on superhero films, citing Deadpool & Wolverine as an example.
Cox, who received critical acclaim for his award-winning role in HBO’s Succession, spoke at a recent panel at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. When asked about the success of globally popular TV shows, he couldn’t help but share his thoughts on the current state of cinema and how TV series are now trying to do what movies once did.
“What’s happened is that television is doing what cinema used to do,” he said (via The Hollywood Reporter). “I think cinema is in a very bad way. I think it’s lost its place because of, partly, the grandiose element between Marvel, DC and all of that.”
With superhero films dominating the cinema today, the legendary actor believed that the cinema was starting to fall apart and seemingly losing its focus. He then cited Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s Deadpool & Wolverine as an example. Though this MCU movie made a lot of money and entertained viewers in many ways, he was convinced that it would later lose its impact “in terms of the work.”
“You’re getting the same old … I mean, I’ve done those kind of [projects],” he continued.
Cox played William Stryker in Bryan Singer’s 2003 X2: X-Men United. Though he portrayed the military scientist who experimented on mutants, like Wolverine, the veteran star admitted that he had forgotten that he created the adamantium-clawed hero in the movie as he continued to talk about the third Deadpool film.
“Deadpool meets the guy … Wolverine, who I created, but I’ve forgotten. Actually,” he added. “When those films are on, there’s always a bit of me [as Stryker] and they never pay me any money.”
Hence, for him, doing these films only became a “party time” for certain actors. As he trusted that Reynolds and Jackman could do more, he seemed disappointed that they went down that road, and it even became a box office, earning over $1 billion globally.
“They make a lot of money. You can’t knock it,” Cox asserted.
How successful Deadpool & Wolverine has become?
There’s no denying that Deadpool & Wolverine has become one of the most successful superhero movies of today. Ahead of its release, it generated such incredible hype that it became the most anticipated summer movie of the year. It even broke Fandango’s first-day ticket sales records and had a strong start, opening to a staggering $444 million globally in July.
The threequel also helped Marvel Studios regain its footing at the box office after a couple of flop movies in 2023, such as Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels. With its total earnings of $1.154 billion, it has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, beating out Todd Phillip’s 2019 Joker and previous Deadpool films.
Deadpool & Wolverine has also lived up to the hype, garnering acclaim from critics and fans alike. It even received an “A” CinemaScore, is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and has a stellar audience score of 95%.
Despite the criticisms of superhero movies, it cannot be denied that viewers continue to support these films. While original films are unmatched, cinema has room for various genres, and cinematic universes have become prevalent today.
