Sony’s CEO Admits the Obvious: Superhero Movies Actually Have to Be Good Now
Sony Pictures has had a complicated relationship with Marvel over the years, and now CEO Ravi Ahuja is openly acknowledging something fans have been saying for a long time… the bar for superhero movies is a lot higher than it used to be.
After The Amazing Spider-Man 2 abruptly ended that franchise, Sony agreed to share Spider-Man with Marvel Studios. At the same time, the studio pushed forward with its own Marvel universe.
For a while, it seemed like they could get away with anything. Venom brought in $856 million worldwide in 2018 despite being panned by critics, proving that the genre was still a cash cow. But with Avi Arad steering the ship, quality hasn’t exactly been Sony’s strong suit.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Venom: The Last Dance landed with mixed reviews, while Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter turned into complete disasters. Thankfully, the studio’s animated Spider-Verse films are among the most celebrated superhero movies ever, showing that Sony can deliver when the right creative team is behind the project.
Now, even Sony’s top executive knows the old formula won’t cut it anymore.
“There was a period of time where anything superhero was almost guaranteed to do well. I think [the bar] for superhero movies, it was relatively low. In the mid-2010s, pretty much all of them would do incredible business, but now even superhero movies have to have a degree of originality.”
He went on to explain what modern audiences expect:
“They have to add something different. They have to have [an] emotional connection. They have to be cultural events that can be marketed that way.”
Ahuja is hopeful that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will succeed, but he’s also very aware of the stakes. He admitted:
“You can’t make a bad movie.”
That statement suggests the studio is finally waking up to the reality that half-baked Marvel projects won’t survive in a post-Endgame world. With a roster full of untapped Spider-Man characters, Sony could still turn things around if they put the right talent in charge.
Ahuja also addressed the bigger challenges facing Hollywood right now:
“It’s a bit of marketing, but it’s making it an event that people want to go out to theaters and watch together as well. That’s always been the case. I think it’s just even tougher than it used to be.”
For now, Sony has pumped the brakes on its live-action Marvel projects after Kraven the Hunter’s failure. Still, fans have Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to look forward to, along with a Spider-Noir TV series.
Whether the studio finally takes full advantage of its web of heroes remains to be seen, but one thing is clear. If Sony really wants to protect the Spider-Man brand, it’s probably time for Avi Arad to step aside and let someone else take the reins.
Source: The Wrap