The (Social) Power Of A Superhero

Batman. Superman. Combine them and you get a pretty powerful social driver. Leading up its debut, “Batman v Superman” garnered over 180 million mentions. Comparing to other releases in the past year, it only trails “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

Despite critic despair over the film, fans flocked to the theater to see it and then took to the web to discuss. Batman v Superman earned $209 million domestically and $538 million globally its first week. While trailing Deadpool (which is now the highest grossing R-rated film) on earnings, it did surpass it socially. During that week, over 1.4 million mentions of the film were generated, compared to one million of Deadpool on its release week.

This data shows that superheroes drive serious conversation. There's a mix of nostalgia and hope in all these films. And studios have taken note. Over the next couple of years, both DC and Marvel are set to release a series of films around numerous superheroes. And the choice of actor matters. Is Ben Affleck the best Batman? Will Hugh Jackman stay as Wolverine?

So, to celebrate this (and keep us all informed), we wanted to share this lovely infographic highlighting all the actors who have played which superhero over the years. We'll be interested to see which ones resonate most with the crowds.

Massive Super Hero Star

Published on 2016-04-04 17:49:20