2015 was a good year for the superhero franchise. Well, for Marvel Studios’ franchises at least. However, while DC didn’t release any films last year it did attempt to compete with Marvel when it came to TV shows and teaser trailers for movies coming out this year, such as Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad films. So, with the battle raging on and off screen, on the TV and cinema – who came out on top in 2015?

 

If we’re looking at movies, there’s simply no comparison, as Marvel wins every time. Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man were both released last year and took home a whopping amount of cash at the cinema, with the Avengers enjoying $1.405billion and Ant-Man $519.3million, more than many people predicted it might take home.

 

Marvel’s Avengers financial return wasn’t quite on par with Star Wars though, which was released in December, and took home nearly $2billion, putting more money in the pockets of the guys at Disney.

 

However, it’s not just films that contribute towards a franchise’s success. TV show ratings are another factor to consider when it comes to the popularity of a franchise.

 

Spider-Man is considered Marvel’s most lucrative superhero and, in 2014 when the last movie featuring him was released by Sony, he brought home the bacon with $1billion in global retail sales – just in merchandise alone.

 

DC however, enjoys success year on year when it comes to superhero merchandise as Batman continues to successfully sell big, even without any film releases or TV shows supporting him. However, DC could see a boost after a host of successful TV show releases in 2015, with Gotham, Supergirl, Arrow and the Flash all enjoying positive reactions from audiences around the world.

 

To combat that, Marvel has its own host of shows to compete such as Jessica Jones, which has 4.8million adults between the 18-49 category tuning in to watch everyone’s favourite heavy drinking, sex loving, fist fighting ‘superhero’. Daredevil is another TV show the studio has to offer and, while that might not be as strong as Jessica when it comes to ratings, it also has the ever-popular Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D series, which helps smooth out any plot holes between the Avengers films.

 

Another reason for Marvel’s successful 2015 was that it attempted a grittier, darker adaptation of its characters. Yes, Christopher Nolan attempted this with his Batman Dark Knight series but Marvel has brought Jessica Jones and Deadpool to the table, who break all the rules and could be considered anti-heroes – after all, they mostly help people for money.

 

But, when all’s said and done, 2015’s winning franchise has to be Marvel’s Avengers. As noted, the latest installment enjoyed a positive response and there are two more Avengers centred films in the pipeline to come, meaning the foundations have well and truly been laid for future success.

 

Captain America: Civil War being released this year should encourage some further hype around Earth’s greatest heroes, as we see old favourites Captain America and Iron Man knock heads as well as an all star cast of heroes including Hawkeye, Black Widow, Vision, Scarlet Witch and new introductions such as Black Panther.

 

This film will more than likely have some nods towards the next Avengers movie, Infinity Wars, so let’s hope Cap and Tony kiss and make up before then. Avengers wins when it comes to superhero franchises in 2015, with Marvel on top as a result. 2016 could be a different story…let battle commence.