Roland Emmerich, whose latest catastrophe epic Moonfall has been a box office flop, has doubled down on prior claims that superhero movies are wrecking the cinema industry.
Emmerich was questioned about his thoughts about releasing a big-budget, non-IP-based film in theaters at a time when such films have failed to attract viewers in an interview with Discussing Film. “Well, it gets harder and harder,” he remarked. “I’m really not very happy about that. How many superhero movies can you make? They’re making like, 7 or 8 Spider-Man [films]? It’s just very boring for me, as a filmmaker. You don’t want to keep making the same movies over and over.”
Emmerich‘s remarks come after he stated in a previous interview that Marvel, DC Comics, and the Star Wars series are “ruining our industry a little bit, because nobody does anything original anymore”. Stargate, Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012 are among the director’s credits, but he says he’s “never found any interest” in comic book adaptations.
Emmerich‘s dislike for superhero movies stretches back several years, with the director stating in 2016 that “superhero movies are a waste of time”.”When you look at my movies it’s always the regular Joe Schmo that’s the unlikely hero. A lot of Marvel movies, they show people in funny suits running around. I don’t like people in capes. I find it silly when someone dons a superhero suit and flies. I don’t understand it”
Moonfall, featuring Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson as two astronauts tasked with preventing the end of civilization when the moon is set on a crash course with Earth, failed at the box office on its first weekend, grossing less than $10 million domestically against a budget of over $140 million.
Moonfall, Emmerich‘s latest excursion into the catastrophe genre, is expected to make only $2.7 million in its second weekend in theaters, according to estimates.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man: No Way Home continues to break records at the box office.
As of this writing, the Marvel movie has grossed more than $1.7 billion worldwide, making it the sixth highest-grossing film in history.
Emmerich isn’t the only director who has used the adjective “boring” to criticize superhero movies in the wake of a recent box office flop. When asked about his thoughts on the genre after the release of The Last Duel in 2021, an adult-oriented medieval drama that bombed at the box office, director Ridley Scott used the words “fucking boring as shit”.
