The superhero genre has dominated the box office for well over a decade, but the tides are shifting, and the latest superhero TV shows are proving how the audience has changed. While superhero stories have always had a place in popular entertainment, it took a long time to become mainstream.
In the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, there was a steady transition as these stories became more appealing to a wider audience, with incredible directors and actors stepping up to tell these stories. And then, in the 2000s, the superhero genre had an explosion in popularity thanks to the X-Men trilogy, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, and later in the decade, the birth of the MCU with Iron Man.
Superhero Fatigue Has Hurt The Genre At The Box Office
Since that time, superhero movies have largely dominated the box office, with the genre landing multiple films in the top 10 spots and often claiming the number one position. However, that is no longer the case. The Multiverse Saga of the MCU struggled to keep up momentum with the earlier releases, and the DCEU was a muddled mess.
In 2025, despite Marvel Studios releasing three feature films and the DCU debuting with Superman, all four of those films combined just barely managed to get a global box office equal to the highest earning film of the year, Ne Zha 2. A Chinese animated film that managed to find global success where most other films in 2025 didn’t.
Loki’s Multiple-Season Story Arc Broke The MCU Big-Screen Mold
Equally, Marvel Studios has struggled to some degree to get its serial TV offerings off the ground, though most have received incredibly high ratings. But one show does stand out from the rest, and provides an example of what the genre should lean more into in the years to come.
Loki was a unique entry for the MCU, having debuted in 2021 and providing a clear indication that the character would return in a second season. With this, the show explored the character in a way that the films had failed to do, delivering 12 episodes in the span of two and a half years. It saw Loki undergo an incredible transformation from a villain into a multiversal hero, and it delivered high quality in every regard.
Today, many viewers prefer to tune into their favorite content on TV, particularly with the rise of streaming, where they binge shows at their own leisure. Ultimately, it seems like TV has become the better format for telling superhero stories.
Daredevil: Born Again, Peacemaker, & The Boys Are All Delivering The Bulk Of Their Stories On TV
As much as the MCU gave audiences an incredible shared universe and the characters connected throughout various stories, TV is just as capable of making that happen, while providing additional convenience and comfort.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of going to the cinema to see a story and experiencing the atmosphere created by watching with a crowd, but I also recognize how much streaming has changed the way we consume media.
Shows like Daredevil: Born Again, though part of the MCU, will largely depict Matt Murdock’s story on the small screen over several seasons. Peacemaker delivered two incredible seasons that bridged the gap between the DCEU and the DCU, and shows like The Boys are proving that entire universes of superhero stories can exist primarily on the small screen.
The shift has already happened, and honestly, it just makes sense for the superhero genre to lean into its new home on the small screen.
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