Is Superhero Burnout Real? Sudbury Native Defends Marvel

Is superhero burnout real? Say it isn't so Batman! What, Hollywood is overdoing a good thing? It's true.

Even Hollywood is coming clean saying they may have gone too far with releasing too many super hero movies. We really haven't seen a big Marvel or DC Comics movie dominate the box office in quite a while. But, we've seen a lot of flops.

While it's been simmering, the fall out came to a full boil when a Marvel actress broke ranks on Saturday Night LIVE this past weekend. She actually admitted her movie flopped. The movie at the center of the controversy is Marvel's Madame Web.

According to Buzzfeed during her opening monologue, SNL host, actress Sydney Sweeney told the audience "You might have seen me in Anyone but You or Euphoria. You definitely did not see me in Madame Web."

At $91 million, it had one of the worst box office openings for a superhero movie, leading some insiders to tell the Hollywood Reporter that Sony won't be making another Madame Web movie anytime soon. 

It was almost as if Sweeney got approval from the movie company to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

Massachusetts actor and Captain America star Chris Evans entered into the discussion saying Marvel deserves more credit than they get. According to: deadline.com:

“I’m not throwing shade! I’ve been a part of a few that missed. It happens. Making a movie is tough. More cooks in the kitchen doesn’t make it easier. I don’t want to highlight specific films in the Marvel catalog, but some of them are phenomenal. Like independently, objectively great movies, and I think they deserve a little more credit.”

According to the independant.com, Batman actor Paul Dano says the fatigue could make the movies better, putting quality over content:

"Our current superhero malaise is the product of an erratic film industry. “It’s an interesting moment where everybody has to go like, ‘OK – what now?’ Hopefully from that, somebody either breathes new life into [comic book movies], or something else blossoms which is not superheroes."

Even Disney chief Bob Iger says Hollywood may have gone to drink from the super hero well, one too many times. On top of Madam Web, The Marvels follows other underperforming Disney films from this year including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Late last year he told Variety:

“Iger said that there has to be a reason ‘beyond commerce’ to make a follow-up film to a hit, noting that over the last past few years Disney has ‘made too many.'”

Is superhero burnout real? With a whopping THIRTY THREE Marvel, and fifteen DC Comics movies made, maybe it's time to head back to the Batcave to renovate.

Massachusetts best known celebrity is not who you think it may be! Could it be the iconic Kurt Russell? He is from Springfield. I didn't know that either. What about our pal from Dorchester, Mark Wahlberg? What about his bro, TV star and New Kid On The Block Donnie Wahlberg?

Our great state boasts many wonderful qualities. We have the best hospitals. Wallethub says we have the best schools. Is there any better seafood than the fresh lobster caught daily? We can also add stars to the list of cool things that can be found in our state, if we care about that. I'm not sure why we are fascinated with the concept of star power as American's. Could it be that we spend a little too much time watching Netflix and Apple TV. These days, people will spend thousands of dollars to meet their favorite pop star backstage.

Boston local Ben Affleck should have no problem paying his mortgage. Fans of his wife, Jennifer Lopez will pay over $5000 for front row tickets and a V.I.P. meet and greet package backstage. Add to that fans of nationwide Comic Cons will FLY to cities and book hotel rooms for a ten second picture with their favorite movie or TV star. On Cameo, you can get a personalized video from Kenny G for just $379.99, delivered right to your phone! What about Back To The Future's Lea Thompson who played Lorraine McFly? Only $124!

Our pals at BetMassachusetts.com has compiled a list of search terms and Google trends of the most popular searched Massachusetts celebrities over the last year. According to BetMassachusetts.com and wwlp.com:

The definition of a Massachusetts celebrity in this list is someone who lived in the state for more than ten years as a child or teenager.

So let's go find the best known star in our state! Here's the top eight.

Each Summer, Steve Carrell from Acton, makes a visit to his family variety store in Marshfield to meet adoring fans. It's not a wildly promoted event. But the loving fans spread the word. When the special day comes, a few hundred stop by to meet the star next door. I was one of them a few years ago. As you can imagine he was awesome.

Born right here in Boston, from his humble beginnings in The Office, John is now full blown movie star and director. Although I miss him pranking Dwight.

He is probably not happy that his pal Ben is higher on this list, (maybe not!) but Matt Damon is still beloved in our hood. His new movie company with Ben promises to give us a lot of celebrity spotting's in and around Boston!

From water beverages, to prayer apps, to movies, Mark Wahlberg has mastered the  way to stay relevant.

Did you know he owns a company that sells motorhomes?

She has come a long way from playing Stiffler's mom in American Pie. Norwell's Jennifer Coolidge makes us proud for making Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential. Jennifer has also won numerous awards for her role in White Lotus. She was hysterical in Best In Show.

West Newbury's former wrestler and current actor John Cena rocks the #3 position with an impressive 1.6 million search impressions. While wrestling could be fake, 1.6 million impressions is real.

Ben got a well deserved boost with those hysterical Dunks commercials during the big game utilizing pals Tom Brady and Matt Damon. I will drink the Dunks, but won't buy the orange track suit.  But maybe the real boost? Marrying JLO.

It doesn't hurt to be Captain America. Sudbury's Chris Evans is Massachusetts most known celebrity.  According to wwlp.com.

This year, Chris Evans surpassed Ben Affleck as the most-known Massachusetts actor. Evans is most famously known as Captain America in the Marvel movies but has also acted in “Knives Out,” “The Gray Man,” and also voiced Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story film “Lightyear.”