‘Batman V Superman’ Can’t Compete With ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Box Office

Batman V Superman and Captain America: Civil War have officially butted heads, and DC fans aren’t going to like what appears to be happening. At one point, the two were set to compete at the same time, but sadly for the caped crusader and the Kryptonian orphan, that might have simply made it worse.

Admittedly, BvS has done extremely well at the box office, not quite beating out Deadpool, but earning a lot more than critics gave it credit for. If recent years in cinema have taught us anything, it’s that no matter what the critics think, it’s the moviegoers who determine the film’s success. That said, Dawn of Justice could have been better in many areas.

Many critics, both professional and “armchair,” have said that Batman V Superman was a bit confusing, much like Man of Steel was, but for different reasons. Man of Steel used a lot of flashbacks and relied a lot on philosophy until the very end. BvS seemed to jump around a bit much, not seeming to know what kind of movie it wanted to be. When the two heroes finally decided to be friends for the weirdest reason (both of their mothers were named Martha), an almost literal version of deus ex machina appeared to threaten them both. The film was clever enough to realize that Wonder Woman came seemingly out of nowhere and reflected that in the dialogue (“Is she with you?).

However, after the DC fans determined to make the movie a success drove the box office enough to rival most superhero films, the hype died down and almost vanished. Suddenly, Marvel came back and reminded us that they had their own superhero showdown on the way. Captain America: Civil War hit theaters and was an instant hit and made many moviegoers almost forget about Batman V Superman entirely as the DC film’s box office dropped over 60 percent from the previous Friday.

Reviews for Cap 3 were so glowing that it was even considered the Avengers film that Age of Ultron should have been. This happened without the presence of fan-favorites Thor and Hulk, who are planned for a team-up in Thor: Ragnarok.

Friday Box Office: ‘Batman V Superman’ Drops Hard Against “Captain America: Civil War’: ‘Zootopia’ will pass… https://t.co/JqEE2dY0wx

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The Guardian pointed out why Captain America’s latest film was worth being over 50 percent higher than Batman V Superman in Rotten Tomatoes ratings alone. They said that the action helps move the story along much more satisfyingly than BvS‘s moral quandaries, and the visceral feel and lighting just made the stand-off between Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Cap (Chris Evans) so much more enjoyable.

You actually feel for the characters in Captain America: Civil War, while Batman V Superman has been described as basically banging action figures together in a dark room. The Guardian also points out that the characters in Civil War are being held accountable for their actions and the resulting collateral damage, while BvS seems to act like these characters are gods and only accountable to each other. By the end of both films, the moral issues are still left unresolved, but Captain America: Civil War made it more enjoyable to watch.

Both even have a villain character show up and reveal he’s been manipulating them to fight each other. Watch Civil War to see who he is if you haven’t already.

The characters themselves even seem to have more emotional reasons to fight in Cap 3, as Tony Stark and Steve Rogers almost make up until a shocking revelation sends the former into a rage. Loyalties are part of the story and lead to a thrilling end.

While the box office has yet to be fairly compared, it seems Batman V Superman is failing to compete with what many are calling a superior superhero showdown film.

[Feature image via Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice/Warner Bros. Pictures, Captain America: Civil War/Marvel]