With “Spider-Man: Homecoming” opening strong at the box office last weekend, the game is back on: Marvel Studios, thanks in part to its own creative camaraderie, again has some crime-fighting competition in Hollywood.
Last summer, things weren’t looking so bright for the superhero franchises at other studios: WB/DC’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad” had stumbled creatively and underperformed commercially, as had Fox’s “X-Men: Apocalypse.” The true lone standout outside of Marvel Studios was “Deadpool,” which overcame great resistance just to get made and respected at Fox.
Meanwhile, Marvel had another banner year — in what has nearly become a banner decade — with “Captain America: Civil War” and “Doctor Strange.” (Sony’s highest-grossing film in 2016, meanwhile, was the “Ghostbusters” reboot.)
Yet the first half of 2016 did reveal two of the most promising hopes for 2017, with superhero newcomers Gal Gadot and Tom Holland. As Wonder Woman and “on loan from Sony” Spider-Man, respectively, the two actors nearly stole the show in limited action in “Batman v Superman” and “Civil War.” Now, so far in 2017, they are the two biggest breakout superhero actors, putting their franchises on higher ground.
