Marvel Movies vs DC Movies

Want to know the best Marvel Movies and DC Movies?  How about the worst Marvel Movies and DC Movies?  Curious about Marvel Movies and DC Movies’ box office grosses or which Marvel Movies and DC Movies picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Marvel Movies and DC Movies got the best reviews from critics and audiences…how about which ones got the worst reviews? Well, you have come to the right place…. because we have all of that information.

As a kid I remember always hearing about which comic book company was the best.   Many of my friends were in the DC comic camp. Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and of course the classic Saturday morning cartoon, Justice League of America (1973-1986), were the strengths of their argument. My favorite superhero was Spider-Man, who was and still is one of Marvel comics most popular superheroes….so that put me in the less crowded camp of Marvel. As an adult the same argument seems to be still being asked…only now it is which comic company is bringing the best superhero movies to the big screen.

This Marvel Movies vs DC Movies page will look at the DC/Marvel movies that have released in theaters and will be ranked by box office grosses, critical reception and award recognition. Also included in this page are 10 possibly interesting facts about DC/Marvel comics and movies. Finally, there is a Marvel Movies vs DC Movies section that compares each companies’ average results.

Christopher Reeve's Superman is still standing tall in the rankings almost 40 years later.
Christopher Reeve’s Superman is still standing tall in the rankings almost 40 years later.

Marvel Movies vs DC Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (0 to 5 stars) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards. (Main stat table follows)

Marvel Movies vs DC Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by either Marvel or DC.
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by worldwide yearly box office rank
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Marvel Movie and DC Movie received.
  • Sort Marvel Movies vs DC Movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
2014's Guardians of the Galaxy...yet another smash for Marvel Movies
2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy…yet another smash for Marvel Movies

Possibly Interesting Facts About Marvel Movies vs DC Movies

1. DC (Detective Comics) was formed in 1934. Marvel Comics was formed in 1939. Currently these two companies have a 80% share of the comic book market.

2. DC’s first big successes were when they introduced Superman in 1938 and Batman in 1939. Marvel’s first big successes were the introductions of the Fantastic Four in 1961, Spiderman in 1962 and the X-Men in 1963.

3. DC’s first superhero big screen adaptation was 1966’s Batman the Movie starring Adam West as Batman. Marvel’s first big screen movie was 1986’s Howard the Duck which was produced by George Lucas.

4. DC had the first big successes on the big screen. The Superman franchise that started in 1978 and their Batman franchise that started in 1989 became some of the biggest box office hits of all-time.. Marvel had to wait until 2002’s Spiderman before they got to experience the massive box office success that DC had been receiving.

5. Since 2002…..Marvel has become the king of the superhero box office…..although DC has the successful Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy in their corner….Marvel can boast the Iron Man franchise, The Avengers franchise, the Captain America franchise, the Thor franchise and X-Men franchise.

6. Only two superhero movie have been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar® nomination (Joker & Black Panther)……..there have been two superhero movies that have earned Worst Picture of the year awards…..1986’s Howard the Duck and 2004’s Catwoman.

7. Want to know how big Marvel movies have become? The Disney company bought the rights of the Marvel movies and other Marvel properties for 4.4 billion dollars in 2009.

Heath Ledger in DC's The Dark Knight (2008)
Heath Ledger in DC’s The Dark Knight (2008)
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. 
For comments….all you need is a name and a comment….please ignore the rest.

 

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160 thoughts on “Marvel Movies vs DC Movies”

    1. Hey Vince….the great part of these pages (in our humble opinion) is that if you think our UMR page is complete bonkers…you can sort the information any way you want. Glad you found our page and glad you commented….both are greatly appreciated.

      Reply

  3. Hello, it’s interesting information for me.
    I want to know where did pick up the information about (2.An average Marvel Movies vs DC Moviesmovie grosses $243.70 million in adjusted box office gross.)
    Thank you for read this comment.

    Reply

    1. Hey John Eun…..that is or was the average of all the Marvel and DC movies…seems it has been awhile since I updated that page. Right now our database is slightly broken so getting the new average might take awhile…I do think the averages have increased since the last time I put updated the numbers.

      Reply

    1. Hey Andrew …..all of these grosses are adjusted using actual ticket sells and average ticket cost…..we find it easier to compare the movies when using ticket sells. Thanks for finding this page.

      Reply

  5. it would be great to include budgets so we could see what the profit margins were between the two big companies. Also who is ahead on total dollars? (total profits?)

    Reply

    1. Hey Me…sadly budget costs never seem to be reliable. So we have not included them….but it would be awesome if we had those numbers. As for you question….I would think the answer would be Marvel…..as D.C. Has had way more financial bombs. But both are still sitting pretty.

      Reply

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