"Each year, a lucky handful of major, mainstream movies are inundated with predictions that they will flop commercially due to their inclusion of progressive themes, values or characters. Most recently, Superman was hit by such claims after director James Gunn referred to the superhero as an immigrant, with even Dean Cain, former Superman actor, hitting back at Gunn's characterisation of the crime fighter. Go broke, though? Not quite: Superman is one of this year's highest earners at the box office."
"Conversely, there are those hit with such "anti-woke" backlash that do struggle, particularly compared with the funds spent to make them. Disney's live action and The Little Mermaid remakes, plus its Buzz Lightyear spin-off , were all dubbed commercial disasters; each had been hounded by anti-woke warriors. Action films led by women, like The Marvels and 2019's Charlie's Angels, also failed to hit their assumed commercial heights in the face of backlash."
Each year a subset of major mainstream films receive predictions of commercial failure tied to progressive themes, values, or characters. Several high-profile examples targeted for "woke" content have succeeded commercially, with Superman among this year's top earners and films exploring LGBTQ+ representation, race, and identity achieving strong box office returns; Barbie was 2023's highest-grossing movie. Conversely, some films that attracted anti-woke backlash underperformed relative to their budgets, including Disney live-action remakes and female-led action films. A study analyzing over 10,000 films and four million audience comments found no consistent correlation between perceived "woke" content and box office failure. The research was presented at Zurich Film Festival.
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