This document analyzes the top 5 highest grossing superhero movies to understand why they were successful in attracting audiences. It examines the history and idea behind each character, the distributors involved in promoting the films, and whether each movie hit its target audience. Some key points made include that established comic book histories and franchises help build fanbases, relatable characters draw broader audiences, and sequels are guaranteed success if they improve on previous films, but trying to please everyone can compromise the story.

1. AS Media Studies
Audience Research
By Michael Kumar

2. Secondary Research Task
Reasons why the top 5 films in the Superhero
movie genre are successful in attracting
audiences.

3. 1 - The Dark Knight
 Top of the Superhero
movie Genre
 Lifetime Gross of over
$1,000,000,000 Worldwide
 Distributed by Warner
Bros.
 Rated PG-13
 Featured Actors include :
- Christian Bale
- Heath Ledger
- Aaron Eckhart
- Morgan Freeman

4. History
The Dark knight is known to be one of the
most successful movies of all time, so how
did it attract such a huge audience?
One of the main attractions of the Dark
Knight is the history of the character, the
“batman”. Batman has been known as a
comic book hero, originating from the early
1940s. There have been many hundreds
of thousands of comic stories, and 5
hollywood movies produced alongside the
Dark Knight. This huge past has already
created many fans of the franchise, who
know the stories from the comic books, so
any movie based on the batman is bound
to have a wide audience.

5. The Idea of Batman
The idea of the Batman is a superhero who is a master of martial
arts, a true intellectual, and a man who possesses a lot of high
tech to help him fight crime, yet he has no actual supernatural
superpowers, unlike most other popular superheroes. This idea
may attract an audience, as the batman is a unique superhero,
who uses things that any normal person can use to fight crime.
The dark past of batman, the many cool gadgets, and the relatively
dark personality of both the batman and the villains he faces gives
anything in the batman series a great potential to be successful, as
any batman story can easily be captivating and action packed.

6. Distributors of The Dark Knight
The Distributor of the Dark Knight, Warner Bros, are one of
the largest film companies in the world. They have produced
many successful films in the past that Gross huge profits,
exposing their movies to as many people as possible.
The Dark Knight was released to 4,366 theaters locally, and
was promoted on all forms of media at a grand scale, through
internet adverts, TV ad placements and even through new
comics!
The widespread advertising built up a lot of hype about the
film, and had a huge effect on the size of the audience.

7. The Target Audience of The Dark
Knight
So, has the Dark Knight hit the target audience? Taking into
account all the factors such as the distributor, the history and
appeal of the batman, and the overall look and idea of the story of
the Dark Knight, you can clearly see that the movie would attract
audiences of all ages, and both genders, although the batman
comics have always been aimed towards boys.
Since the wide audience found the movie to be very well produced
too, the film was spread through word of mouth and online posts,
and after release, the audience grew and grew, making the film
one of the most successful of all time!

8. 2 - Spiderman
 Placed 2nd in the top
superhero genre
 Lifetime Gross of just over
$820,000,000 worldwide
 Distributed by Sony
 Rated PG-13
 Featured Actors include :
- Toby Maguire
- Willem Dafoe
- Kirsten Dunst
- James Franco

9. History of Spiderman
Just like the batman comics, Spiderman has a large past of a comic book
series that originated from the 1960s. Unlike the Dark Knight, this is the
first Spiderman movie, so it doesn't have a huge worldwide film
audience, but since the spiderman comics have been around for almost
half a century, the audience would already be huge. Along with the
comics came a toy series and even a quite successful cartoon series,
further increasing the fanbase of the spiderman franchise, guaranteeing
a huge audience for this movie
Idea
Spiderman is a superhero that gives a lot of people hope, as he is a
character many people can relate to. He starts off as a normal student,
although he isn't very popular, and is quite a geek compared to the other
students. He has a crush on a girl, Mary Jane, but she is not even slightly
interested In him.
On a school trip to a museum of science, he gets bitten by a radioactive
spider which changes his life, and he gets spider powers such as web
slinging, wall climbing, spider senses etc
It's a story of empowerment of a normal person, and many kids would be
captured by this story, as they can relate to it.
The movie is based of the initial events of Spiderman, so comic book
fans would love to see it, and children would love to watch it!

10. Distributor of Spiderman
Spiderman was distributed by Sony Pictures, one
of the leading distributors of media in the world.
They did a similar job to other distributors of large
movies, promoting the film through mass media,
mainly through TV ads, but the internet was a
huge advertising zone, and even in the many
spiderman video games, they placed small
advertisements in the games through information
updates online via PSN and Xbox live.

11. The Target Audience of Spiderman
With large movies like this, with huge histories of
tv shows, comics, games and toys, many people
have grown up with the franchise, so the target
audiences are usually huge, and the movie has to
please everyone. Spiderman does that
successfully, as the story is amazing, that the
elder generations can watch over and over again,
and the action scenes, the classic hero vs villain
scenes keeps the kids excited and captivated.
You can't go wrong with movies like these!

12. 3 - Spiderman 2
 3rd most successful
superhero movie
 Worldwide gross
profit of just over
$780,000,000
 Distributed by Sony
 Rated PG-13
 Direct Sequel to
Spiderman

13. A Fans Review of Spiderman 2
Spider-Man 2 picks up where the original film left off, this time showing the more
difficult hardships of being a superhero. Standing in the way is Dr. Otto
Octavius(Doc Ock) a brilliant scientist whose fusion experiment goes awry at a
demonstration Peter attends.
The story, and characters are fleshed out more this time out, as well as the
effects. Kirsten Dunst is more convincing as MJ, she seemed a little flat in the
role last time. Here she, like the rest of the cast, do a convincing job. The top
performance has to go to Alfred Molina. In the short screen time Otto has before
he becomes a diabolical powerhouse supervillain, he is an endearing, likable
person. Spider-Man 2 also offers more confidence in it's story telling. The
"raindrops" sequence is an evident example. Not afraid to go full nine, this movie
is the definitive comic book movie, possessing action, drama, comedy, and
message(without being too preachy). Director Sam Raimi and crew really nailed
it this time around. Be sure to check out comic artist Alex Ross' paintings spliced
in the opening credits, entailing the events of the first film. A great opening to a
great film.
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316654/reviews)

14. Why was Spiderman 2 Successful?
The fan review pretty much sums up why. First of
all, since Spiderman 2 is a direct sequel, it's
guaranteed to be a success with a huge audience,
as the audience from the previous movie want to
know what happens after the first movie. The
producers can focus on what people said about
the last movie too, and improve this movie using
the audiences feedback. What you're left with is
an improved version of the last movie, with a
better production value, and an eager audience.

15. So why didn't Spiderman 2 receive a
bigger gross profit than Spiderman?
An explanation for this can be that Spiderman 2 wasn't as
advertised as much Spiderman, leaving the audience
unaware of the movies release in cinemas. I think otherwise
though. With Sequels, you can only rely on the people that
enjoyed the last movie to come and watch the sequel. With
the first movie, a small percentage of people who went to see
the movie may have not enjoyed it, so they would never
decide to see the sequel.
This is why man sequels to other movies can be a major flop,
as huge profits from the original movie may not mean a
guaranteed huge profit on the sequel, as the people may not
have even enjoyed the original movie.

16. So, did Spiderman 2 hit its target
audience?
Seeing as the movie is a sequel, it has to have the
same target audience as before. To change the
target audience when producing a sequel is movie
suicide, so the target audience is exactly the same
as the original spiderman movie.
From what we saw in the fan review, Spiderman 2
not only hits the target audience, but improves the
viewing pleasure of the audience by improving the
movie itself. Sequels can be risky, but Director
Sam Raimi has pulled it off!

17. 4 - Spiderman 3
 4th most successful
superhero movie
 Worldwide Gross of just
over $890,000,000
 Distributed by Sony
 Rated PG-13
 3rd Sequel, yet the lowest
rated movie in the series,
at 6.4 compared to
spidermans 7.4 (imdb)

18. Why is Spiderman 3 4th?
You'd expect the 3rd Sequel of a series to be a lot more
successful than the first movie in the series, so why is
Spiderman 3 rated the 4th most successful superhero movie
of all time?
Well, keeping in mind it is a sequel, you have to take into
account the sequel effect that I mentioned 2 slides back,
where audience members who disliked the previous movie
are less likely to view the sequel afterwards.
Spiderman 3's ratings are quite low compared to the other
movies in the series though, which means the movie wasn't
as good as the others. This can be a reason why it is
considered to be 4th in the list.

19. A Fans review of Spiderman 3 :
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413300/reviews
198 out of 326 people found the following review useful:
some good things but it never quite comes together, 8 May 2007
Third entry in the hugely popular series has Peter Parker and alter ego Spider-
Man fighting what could possibly be the greatest battle of his life. The intrepid
Parker is on top of the world as the citizens of New York City have finally come to
appreciate all of his heroic deeds, but more importantly he's found a stable
relationship with Mary Jane Watson. His seemingly perfect existence comes to an
abrupt halt when he learns that his uncle's real killer is still at large, and best
friend turned bitter adversary Harry Osborn comes seeking revenge. Peter also
bonds with an unusual black symbiote that unleashes a darker side of him and
threatens to destroy everything he holds dear. Some effective moments of
intense, exciting action and superior special effects are undermined by
overlength, and juxtaposed against moments of corny, unintentionally funny
human drama. The ingredients for a success are there, including a good cast and
some interesting subplots, but they can't overcome a leaden script which chooses
to revel in its mawkish material rather than flesh out its characters or tell a
coherent story. Watchable, but never quite as engaging or spectacular as it could
be considering the standard set by the first two films. **½

20. Fans disappointed...
Most of the audience posted reviews like this, all you have to do is
read the review title to see their opinions :
- Big-Budget Special-Effects Extravaganza, Out Of Focus
- Perfect example of trying to fit TOO much into a movie
- Spider-Man 3 is adequate, but adequate just isn't enough
- A Let Down
- BEST effects, yet WORST movie
- The worst Spidey yet. I LOVED IT!
- I'm so sorry, Spidey
The fans clearly are disappointed, so what went wrong?

21. What went wrong?
The pressure of making a good sequel is always
really high, but what has happened here is the
director trying to end the series with a bang. He
did what he did with the last movie, read the
audiences reviews, and has clearly tried to
impress them, investing $200,000,000 as a
production budget, but the movie ended up full of
action scenes, leaving the story a little empty.
The more you try to please a target audience, the
more you can lose track of the plot of the story, so
sometimes it isn't a good thing to please every
single person in the target audience.

22. Did Spiderman 3 hit the target
audience?
Just like the previous spiderman movies, it has hit the target
audience well again, as the distribution company did their job well,
producing TV ads, video games, and even Spiderman 3's own
movie website where fans can get more information on the film.
The same audiences as before were the target, and since it is a
sequel, the audience didn't really need to be attracted, but simply
notified of the film. Fans of the comic books series who know the
story may have been disappointed by the movies lack of story and
plot focus, but fans who haven't read the comics or watched the
cartoon wouldn't know better. So, although the target audience
wasn't as happy with this movie compared to the others in the
series, it has hit it, and made quite a large gross profit.

23. 5 – Iron Man
 5th in the Superhero
genre
 Worldwide Gross of
roughly $585,000,000
 Distributed by
Paramount
 Rated PG-13
 Released 2008, use
of improved CGI

24. History of Iron Man
Like the Batman and Spiderman Comics, Iron
man originates from 1963, from an Idea from a
collaboration between comic book legend Stan
Lee and scripter Larry Lieber. The comics are
more recent than the likes of batman and
spiderman, but they have been around for almost
40 years, so there is quite a history, and with a
history there are willing fans who would be very
excited if a movie version was released, so a
target audience appears, fans of the comics.

25. Idea of Iron Man
Iron man is seen as similar to batman in a way, a
superhero with a lot of money and a lot of gadgets, with a
strong personality. Iron man also has a huge patriotic and
almost political side to the story too, as the lead character
is a weapons designer, owner of a leading business in
military technology, and fights villains that have
communist views.
Some readers believe that in the comics, some storylines
are written to convey the authors thoughts on the vietnam
war, so Iron man is seen as a very stereotypical
american, arrogant and very boyish, but very badass. So
the American audience will love this side of Iron man.

26. Distributors of Iron Man
Iron man was distributed by Paramount, a giant of
distribution, similar 20th Century Fox or Warner
Bros, responsible for such movies as War of the
Worlds, Transformers, Cloverfield, and even
helped with the Titanic. So the studio is known to
distribute many great films that use CGI. Like all
other distributors too, they did a great job
spreading the movie around, via a great TV ad,
internet ads, and even adverts for the Video
Game they planned to release at the same time of
the movie.

27. Target Audience of Iron Man
The target audience is again, the fans of the
comic books series, and to attract a new
audience, the fans of action movies, the heavy
use of intense CGI action scenes and badass-
ness of the American war hero brings in many
viewers seeking an intense action packed film.
The movie has hit the target audience very well,
bringing in many male viewers due to the strong
male character of Iron man.

28. Upcoming Superhero Movies :
Iron Man 3
Iron man 3 is scheduled to be released in 2013, sometime in march.
Demographics for the previous Iron man movie and Iron Man
comic books make it clear that this movie will be most popular
with teenage males between 13 and 24 years old, as males in
that age group tend to like a strong male character with an
attitude, and superhero comics in general.
Psychographically, boys will be able to relate to Iron man's
personality, his personal values and moral values. He defends
enemies against his company and against his personal friends,
and never acts unjust, harming the innocent.
In Iron man 2, he makes it public that he is a superhero, so he is
seen as a role model by all viewers. In Iron man 3, viewers of the
prequels would want to see what happens next, guaranteeing the
success of Iron man 3

29. Upcoming Superhero Movies :
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled to be
released in late July, and is predicted to be one of
the biggest movies of all time. Due to the prequels
massive success, this movie is guaranteed to
bring in a massive profit and and huge success at
the box office. Due too its popularity in the first two
films it is expected to be even better. The trailer Is
also going to increase its popularity already
attracting millions of people.

30. Group Discussion
What people liked in a superhero film-
 Most people enjoy the action seen in these films
and they say they should have good fighting
scenes
 Most find the storyline captivating, and people
can relate to the story and characters involved
(eg. Peter Parker aka Spiderman losing his uncle
Ben to a criminal)
 The heroism and morals given from the
superheroes, along with the costumes and
symbols gives the superhero idealogy an
attractive look and cool attitude

31. Group Discussion
What people dislike in a superhero film -
 Storylines are often predictable (Guy saves girl
from evil villain)
 Superhero storylines can be cliché and
repetitive, as in people can tell that certain
superhero storylines are similar even though the
superheroes are completely different
 Some of the things superheroes say, the
dialogues involved between the superheroes and
the civilians are just cheesy and predictable

32. Star Appeal
Star appeal is a huge part of bringing in a large audience
for a movie in modern times. To guarantee a movies
success, the actors and acting must be impressive to
really convey the story the director is trying to tell.
Already established and Iconic actors such as Morgan
Freeman, Bra Pitt, and Robert Downey Jr. will attract
large audiences as movies they star in are perceived by
everyone as great movies.
An example of this success would be in “The
Expendables” where most of the top action movie actors
all starred in one action packed film full of explosions and
violence. The idea of the film and the actors involved
attracted millions, and it became an instant hit!