5 Superhero Movies That Bombed Because Of Bad Release Dates

Release dates are very important for superhero movies. The biggest ones often utilize tried-and-true dates, like the first weekend of May that “Spider-Man” and “The Avengers” (among many others) exploited to lucrative effect. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has often used June as a launchpad for various DC Comics blockbusters, including “Wonder Woman,” “Man of Steel,” and even 1989’s “Batman.” When studios figure out that a date works for superhero fare, they tend to corner it and make sure that it becomes an annual hotspot for comic book cinema.

Despite how much care and thought goes into the release dates for these costly titles, not every superhero movie gets the release date it deserves or needs. In fact, several superhero movie box office flops have had their financial fate sealed by dreadful release dates. Five superhero films in particular stand out as prime examples of how much impact a terrible release date can have on a movie’s box office run. There isn’t one reason a release date is abysmal: Sometimes it’s because the date exposes the movie to too much competition, while other times it puts the film on a collision course with unpredictable or overwhelming real-world circumstances.

There are endless reasons why any movie’s release date can be bad, and these superhero box office bombs vividly reflect how costly the wrong spot on the calendar can be. If only every one of these titles could drop over May’s first weekend.

It’s hard to remember now, but in 2008, Marvel Studios was a nascent player in the movie field. An independent company before it was purchased by Disney in 2009, Marvel Studios was still getting the hang of the complexities of launching major motion pictures. Its inexperience in this regard was apparent when it came time to schedule the studio’s two 2008 movies. “Iron Man” got the first weekend of May slot that two of the original “Spider-Man” installments and “X2” excelled in. Meanwhile, “The Incredible Hulk,” that season’s other Marvel Cinematic Universe entry, launched on June 13, 2008, just seven weeks into the run of “Iron Man” run.

Granted, Marvel and Universal Pictures didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, since July 2008 was crammed to the brim with superhero movies like “Hancock” and “The Dark Knight.” Still, opening so soon after “Iron Man” was a major problem for “Hulk,” especially considering the leggy “Iron Man” was still making $5.62 million in its seventh weekend of release. “The Incredible Hulk” eventually made a little over $134 million domestically, not an awful haul, but also not an ideal sum. Certainly it might have made more if it hadn’t had to contend with another Marvel movie.

Unsurprisingly, since 2008, Marvel Studios has taken more time between its releases, save for when Sony dropped “Spider-Man: No Way Home” seven weeks into the theatrical run of “Eternals.” That first summer season in 2008 and the fate of “The Incredible Hulk” provided valuable lessons.

“Blue Beetle,” the penultimate entry in the DC Extended Universe, was directed by Angel Manuel Soto and focused on the Jaime Reyes incarnation of Blue Beetle (played by Xolo Maridueña). There’s a timeline where “Blue Beetle” could have been a solid moneymaker, but its August 18, 2023 release date ended up being a catastrophic decision. The movie debuted during a pair of labor strikes that shut down Hollywood and prevented the “Blue Beetle” cast from promoting its arrival.

Any potentially buzzy videos or interviews involving the “Blue Beetle” actors on various red carpets or late night talk shows were impossible under these circumstances. Given how the major studios were treating guild-affiliated writers and actors at this time, even the screenwriter had to stump for his union rather than the film itself. Inevitably, larger real-world circumstances hurt “Blue Beetle” and inspired initial box office numbers that were super concerning.

Unfortunately, the movie never recovered and became one of many DC movies that bombed at the box office, with only $130.7 million worldwide. There were other unique problems plaguing its box office run, but a theatrical launchpad in the middle of dual strikes certainly hurt its promotional chances, especially as a non-sequel introducing an obscure superhero to the wider public. That mid-August premiere date inherently meant “Blue Beetle” could only soar so high financially.

Before its debut, “Superman Returns” was perceived as the de facto summer 2006 box office champion. After all, the original Christopher Reeve “Superman” from 1978 ranks 75th in attendance in the history of North American moviegoing. Bringing that brand name back (complete with a reverential approach to the initial “Superman” titles and that John Williams theme music) in an age where the “Spider-Man” movies had proved superhero offerings could exceed $350+ million in North America sounded like a recipe for box office success. To illustrate its confidence in the film, Warner Bros. Pictures scheduled “Superman Returns” for June 28, 2006 so that it could be that summer’s 4th of July tentpole.

However, it quickly became apparent that this nostalgic approach to the Man of Steel wasn’t quite resonating with audiences. Though it did gross $108 million in its first seven days of release, it wasn’t a record-shattering box office hit. More pressingly, its thunder was immediately stolen by the following week’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” That feature annihilated box office records and gave audiences something fresher than “Superman Returns” and its ode to yesteryear’s blockbusters.

Grossing only $391 million globally on a $232 million budget, “Superman Returns” became a classic example of a franchise reboot that bombed at the box office. Though that 4th of July holiday once looked enticing to Warner Bros., opening just a week before Jack Sparrow’s second adventure proved a grave miscalculation. 

The immense drop for 2021’s “The Suicide Squad” from the box office haul of 2016’s “Suicide Squad” suggests that this follow-up might have been doomed under any circumstances. With only $168.7 million worldwide, “The Suicide Squad” bombed at the box office and became one of DC’s 10 biggest box office flops so far. A key reason for this massive misfire was its August 5, 2021 release date. Warner Bros. clearly hoped to emulate the successful early August debuts of past superhero movie hits like the first “Suicide Squad” or writer-director James Gunn’s own “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

By the time 2021 rolled around, however, that date meant that “The Suicide Squad” succumbed to the Warner Bros.-HBO Max “Project Popcorn” plan. This initiative ensured that every single 2021 theatrical Warner Bros. title simultaneously hit HBO Max for 30 days, making “The Suicide Squad” available basically “for free” to HBO Max subscribers just as its big screen run began. Trying to get audiences to see another movie called “Suicide Squad” was already a challenge, but scoring box office success while contending with a simultaneous streaming launch was never going to work.

Opening in August 2021 ensured that “The Suicide Squad” scored massive viewership numbers for HBO Max. But that same release date also guaranteed that box office success was impossible.

As part of its modern critical re-evaluation, “Speed Racer” is now considered by many scholars and critics to be a superhero movie. Whatever genre it is, the Wachowski sisters’ contribution to the list of the best racing movies of all time refuses to leave people’s imaginations. Unfortunately, “Speed Racer” was capsized in its initial theatrical release by a poor release date. Initially set to launch on May 23, 2008, “Speed Racer” eventually moved up to May 9 to avoid competition with “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” The mid-May launchpad had previously worked out great for the Wachowskis’ “The Matrix Reloaded ” back in 2003.

Unfortunately, “Speed Racer” wasn’t a sequel to a beloved movie. It was an adaptation of a 1960s anime feature that needed all the help it could get. That was especially true since it opened one week after “Iron Man,” a massive sleeper hit, and one week before the family movie sequel “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” Squashed in between so much competition, “Speed Racer” inevitably flopped with just $43.94 million domestically. Dismissed initially as one of the biggest money-losers of all time, “Speed Racer” deserved a better starting gate.

Luckily for all involved, “Speed Racer” zoomed into more people’s hearts as the years went by. It even scored an IMAX reissue in 2026, a feat that higher-grossing 2008 fare like “Prince Caspain” couldn’t dream of achieving.