Is this the movie that started it all?
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Symarip — 12 years ago(December 01, 2013 04:51 PM)
Both Blade and X-men did pretty good (130 mil and 290 mil), but the first Spiderman I would say was the real turning point, which made over 800 million at the box office.
If you've heard of it, it's already too mainstream for me. -
dlancer — 12 years ago(December 05, 2013 07:06 PM)
I'd have to agree with the OP, though it was baby steps.
Blade's success opened the door for X-men, and that opened the door for Spider-Man.
Although I liked X-men and Blade more than Spider-Man, the box office numbers show a clear progression.
If you can read this then you are trying too hard. -
trekkie313 — 10 years ago(August 10, 2015 12:18 AM)
Pretty sure
Batman
(1989) kicked off the idea that you could make a superhero movie that wasn't as cartoony as Superman and still appeal to kids. Superman stopped being cool when they beep up the third movie, hell Spider-Man was gonna be like a Cronenberg movie James Cameron directing before he did True Lies.
SPAWN
even though it sucks, probably broke some ground for under-the-radar stuff like
Blade
and
Hellboy
to get made.
Listen, do you smell something? -Ray Stantz -
Mr-Fusion — 12 years ago(January 07, 2014 06:36 AM)
I don't think the argument is as cut-and-dried. Like
Ithilfaen
says, it was
X-Men
that really threw those doors open, and I think there's something to that. Or one could argue that the massive success of
Spider-Man
is what blew the doors off.
The reason
Blade
stands out for me, is that it felt like there was a Marvel property that was taking it seriously. It looked dark, cast someone in the title role that really seemed to fit (he did), and just wasn't messing around. It was kind of strange; it came out in August, the reviews weren't glowing, but it was the right property for a genre movie that would do well in its respective market. Gone was the image of hammy Marvel movies like
Captain America
,
The Fantastic Four
, and the
Punisher
misfire. They really had something here.
But also, Stephen Norrington wasn't the director of
The Usual Suspects
. So hiring Bryan Singer for
X-Men
was a big deal. Wizard magazine devoted three different issues to the making of this movie (and X-Men in general) leading up to release, so there was a groundswell of support in the comics community. This was magnified for
Spider-Man
. But this was also back in the days when people were rooting for underdog Marvel to do big business.
So I do think that (like the OP said)
Blade
marked a turning point for Marvel. As if they got serious about the whole thing. But it came on the heels of
Batman and Robin
and
Spawn
(
). So
Blade
is what started it for me.
No fair, he's got a gun from the future! -
hafabee — 11 years ago(July 28, 2014 09:35 PM)
Well said Mr. Fusion.
In a lot of ways Blade was the movie that really got the ball rolling for Marvel, it rescued the company when the chips were down and it paved the way for the bigger titles, but it was also X-MEN that brought the world's attention to Marvel comics, and the genre as a whole, and it was a major title that most people had heard of before.
I think you could give credit to either, but I'd give it to X-MEN a little more, if for no other reason than it was a legitimate comic book movie, whereas Blade is truly a vampire movie (albeit one based on a comic). -
Vorpaledged — 12 years ago(January 20, 2014 11:22 AM)
In my opinion Blade put Marvel Studios on the map and really showed us that a Rated-R Superhero movie could work and be successful. Casting Wesley Snipes and the supporting cast was a great thing as well! I wonder how the movie would have turned out if David Fincher, who originally was to direct, stayed on. I also liked Blade 2 and think Guillermo Del Toro did a nice job!
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andyllew-social — 12 years ago(March 22, 2014 08:22 AM)
New Line Cinema is owned (and also was at the time of Blade's release) by WB. So, if it wasn't for WB funding a huge percentage of Blade, Marvel would never have got it made. So, Marvel has WB to thank, in part, for their current standing.
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elgrandTA82 — 12 years ago(March 23, 2014 12:40 PM)
I more or less put it like this when it comes to the progression the current superhero movie boom we have today. Blade saved the comic book movie franchise after Batman & Robin, Steel and Spawn nearly put it into the grave. Without Blade I don't think they were ever going to take a risk on either X Men or Spider Man, Blade showed that with a different approach they could be successful. With Blade a hit, even if not a smash hit, they moved forward on X Men and while not R rated stuck closer to the darker and gritter feel of Blade, when X Men came out that became a hit, and made more because it was accessible to a wider audience being PG13 and not R. It was what the studios wanted and they could then move on with a character everybody knew and did Spider Man, which went on to become the mega blockbuster hit that it was and long and behold our current wave of superhero movies was fully cemented. But yes it all goes back to Blade, without Blade it might never have happened.
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IMDB_Vits — 11 years ago(May 27, 2014 07:07 PM)
No,
Burton
's
BATMAN
showed that super-hero movies can be dark.
BLADE
and
S
P
A
W
N
slightly expanded on that by being R-rated, but they weren't really groundbreaking.
X-MEN
showed that super-hero movies can be deep. -
midwestdawg83 — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 09:48 PM)
Spawn was not released as an R-rated film in theaters. The animated HBO films were great, but the theatrical movie doesn't hold up well at all when you look at the special effects and the terrible action sequences. Plus, Todd McFarlane's horrendous acting.
Batman is a dark character to begin with, not to say Blade isn't either, but the first Batman wasn't that dark compared to "Batman Returns" and that film killed the Keaton franchise.
Blade spawned a trilogy with the lead being an African-American superhero, which had not existed before in movie history. It was groundbreaking for a superhero movie because of it's bloodshed. It got banned in Jamaica when it was released. It also paved the way for action horror movies, like "Resident Evil" and "Hellboy".
me. -
Times_Up — 11 years ago(June 18, 2014 11:07 AM)
Men In Black
would be the movie that started it all for Marvel really, but
Blade
did it for both the genre and continued Marvel's success. Then came
X-Men
which was the 1st major hit based on a flagship title and not obscure stuff and finally came
Spider-Man
, a huge hit and their mascot character.
Tell me something are you fellas really with the Internal Revenue Service?- The Omega Man
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war-path — 11 years ago(June 19, 2014 07:32 PM)
Men In Black would be the movie that started it all for Marvel really, but Blade did it for both the genre and continued Marvel's success.
If you're going that far back and not saying BLADE is what started it all for Marvel, then instead of Men In Black, you'd probably be more accurate in writing that the very first Crow movie 20 years ago starring Brandon Lee in his final role would be what started it all for Marvel. It was the first R-rated comic book movie that was successful at the box office, I believe. I could be wrong on that, and would like to be corrected about it if indeed I am wrong. -
koffeenkreame41-1 — 11 years ago(June 24, 2014 08:42 AM)
Agreed, The Crow did it well. But as for this generation of superhero films, people sadly forget Blade is even a Marvel comics character, even though Stan Lee is credited in all the opening scenes.
"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna*beep*wit me!"- Hudson in Aliens. -
war-path — 11 years ago(July 03, 2014 04:36 PM)
Agreed, The Crow did it well.
Thanks.
But as for this generation of superhero films, people sadly forget Blade is even a Marvel comics character, even though Stan Lee is credited in all the opening scenes. [
]
Indeed. It's BLADE that Marvel and the rest of the comic book/superhero movies have to be thankful to. Just like what Batman 1989 did as the 90's was dawning, so did Blade in 1998 for the new millennium, the 2000's.