While the two films don’t go head-to-head in a traditional sense, Thor Ragnarok and Justice League both will be released in November of this year just two weeks apart. The third part in the Thor trilogy will hit theaters November 3rd, Justice League November 17th. So who will have the better film?
Marvel has reigned supreme over their DC counterpart in terms of success. Every step of the way, Marvel has put together a better feature film than their friendly rivals. But this year that changed when Wonder Woman beat out Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 at the domestic box office. Luckily for Marvel fans, it outpaced them at globally. However, even Sony’s Spider-man: Homecoming, which Marvel had a hand in, can’t seem to get the traction that Wonder Woman had. Having a proven product will only strengthen their cause. Thor 3 will have the benefit of tying into one of Marvel’s biggest properties ever with Avengers: Infinity War set to release next year. On top of their already overshadowing track record, anticipation for the film alone ought to put them light years ahead of the competition.
DC may have one saving grace. The sequel Thor: The Dark World wasn’t as well received as Marvel had hoped. Some loved it, while others felt like it could’ve been much better. Too bad for them, Ragnarok might be the ultimate superhero buddy flick lending Hulk to the main cast. If ever the DCEU had an ace in the hole, Justice League would be the time to pull it out. DC may have tipped the scale slightly in their favor. Not only did Wonder Woman start to establish them as a closer competitor, the rest of Justice League will be fresh faces as well. While there have been different versions of the heroes on tv and animated films Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash are relatively new to the big screen. There won’t be a strong comparison to previous iterations of the character so they can be molded into the type of character the film wants to portray. From the trailers, all three characters look to pay homage to the ones we’re used to but differ in ways that could either help or hurt their cause. If DC got them right then Justice League has way more firepower to knock off the Marvel competition.
In the end, it’s a matter of new and exciting versus tried-and-true. DC has the benefit of a larger scale movie, but Marvel has established themselves as a major player for so long. While it seems unfair to compare the properties, the box office may not lie. With a much bigger chance of success, even though Marvel is the champ, DC might finally have enough in hand to stand a chance. The vote goes to: True!