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Home > Avengers movie > The Dark Knight Rises Vs. The Avengers: Who Is Winning?

The Dark Knight Rises Vs. The Avengers: Who Is Winning?

By: Scott Johnson on December 25, 2011

In : Avengers movie, Movies, The Dark Knight Rises
- 21 Comments

Both The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers should be huge box office hits and make tons of money for their respective studios. However, only one of the films can ultimately hold the title of box office champion for 2012. So I decided to compare the two films in various categories in order to pick who is currently “winning.”

The Dark Knight Rises movie trailer vs. The Avengers movie trailer – I personally liked the first Avengers trailer better than the first Dark Knight Rises trailer, but I liked the second Dark Knight Rises trailer better than the first Avengers trailer. For a completely objective comparison, let’s go to the iTunes Movie Trailers views data. On it’s first day of release, the second trailer for The Dark Knight Rises was viewed a record 12.5 million times, shattering the previous record of 10 million views held by the first Avengers trailer. Marvel Studios really needs to release another trailer for The Avengers to get back in the game. The Dark Knight Rises is currently “winning” based on iTunes views data.

The Dark Knight Rises posters vs. The Avengers posters – The Avengers movie posters are very cool, but The Dark Knight Rises posters are works of art. The first Avengers poster with the big “A” and the words “Assemble 2012” is simple and goosebump inducing. The subsequent Avengers banners showing the cast members are pleasing and well-done. The first Dark Knight Rises poster cleverly recreates the Batman logo through falling buildings (and possible sneaks in the Superman logo as an easter egg). The second Dark Knight Rises poster provides the shocking words “The Legend Ends” with Bane walking away from Batman’s broken mask. While the Avengers posters deliver what fans want to see, The Dark Knight Rises posters actually elevate the conversation about the movie. In my opinion, The Dark Knight Rises posters are “winning” in this comparison.

The Dark Knight Rises buzz vs. The Avengers buzz – For this comparison, I looked to social media to see which movie appears to be generating the most buzz. While The Dark Knight Rises has certainly been the topic of conversation of late because of the second trailer, I wanted to look back at how both movies have been doing in the long run, so I turned to the Facebook fan pages of the two movies. While there are tons of fan pages for both movies, the official Facebook page for The Dark Knight Rises has over 325 thousand likes, while the official Facebook page for The Avengers has over 356 thousand likes. It’s a close battle, but currently The Avengers is “winning” the like battle on the biggest social media network.

The Dark Knight Rises cast vs. The Avengers cast – Both movies are jam-packed with stars, so it’s like two championship teams playing each other. However, if you had to pick the title star of both films, then it’s Christian Bale as Batman in The Dark Knight Rises and Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man in The Avengers. For comparison purposes, I went to Box Office Mojo, which revealed the lifetime gross total and average gross total for each star. Movies including Christian Bale have a lifetime gross total of $1,458,861,820 and an average gross total of $50,305,580. Movies including Robert Downey, Jr. have a lifetime gross total of $1,848,067,720 and an average gross total of $39,320,590. Looking at supporting cast, it becomes an even tougher comparison, as you have Samuel Jackson in The Avengers at a lifetime gross total of $2,812,941,488 and an average gross total of $52,091,509 compared to Morgan Freeman in The Dark Knight Rises at a lifetime gross total of $2,952,088,182 and an average gross total of $65,601,960.

It’s tough to say if lifetime or average gross is more important, because a star with a longer career would tend to have a higher lifetime, but the average number calculation can be thrown off by appearing in just a couple low grossing movies. This one is a very tough call, because both movies are “winning” in this category. In order to declare a winner, I’m going with The Avengers, just because of the longevity of Robert Downey, Jr.’s career.

The Batman franchise vs. The Avengers franchise – Ok, it’s time for a tiebreaker. While lots of arguments can be made over who is “winning” in terms of posters, trailers, buzz, and cast, historical performance is one of the best predictors of box office success. For this comparison, Box Office Mojo has a breakdown of the box office for the Batman franchise vs. The Avengers franchise (the solo films featuring The Avengers characters). In total gross, there is a clear winner with Batman at $1,449,683,452 compared to The Avengers at $1,123,337,474. However, the average gross becomes a little more complicated as The Avenger is ahead, unless the numbers are adjusted for inflation, which puts Batman ahead. The inclusion of the animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm also really throws off the average for the Batman numbers. However, with The Dark Knight at #3 on the all time list and the only movie in either franchise to cross the half-billion mark, I’m going to have to declare The Dark Knight Rises is “winning.”

So overall, The Dark Knight Rises is “winning” in three of the five categories I selected for comparison. Of course, arguments could be made both ways in most categories, and there is still a lot of time before either movie is released, so things could change. Which of the two movies do you think will ultimately win the 2012 box office battle? Make your comparisons in the comments below.

Comments

Tyler the Creator

This is one of the dumbest articles I have ever read.
Let me just clarify your logic, so your using the two main stars lifetime box office gross as an indicator to what film is winning?
NinjaSteve

I agree with Tyler below. This is a bad article. Why don’t you compare the success of the Directors? Or look at a bunch of polls out there on which movie people are wanting to see the most instead of trying to tie in #s that really don’t have to do anything with the success of these films?
Scottjohnson

Yes, past box office performance of the stars in a movie can be an indicator of how well a movie will do at the box office. In the case of The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers, both movies have excellent casts, but Robert Downey, Jr. does have a little more established career among the main stars of each movie.As noted, it’s not a perfect indicator.
Scottjohnson

There were other things I could have compared. Polls tend to be easily biased, but directors would have been a good addition. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome though as Nolan has the better track record there, which would have kept Dark Knight Rises on top.
Liam Pisan

… Let me get this straight. You think for a SECOND that theAvengers is more anticipated than TDKR? The only time I ever find the Avengers brought up in conversation is when we are comparing it to TDKR. There is no competition. Yes, Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, and Captain America are all big titles. But not only is TDK one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time, it is also one of the highest grossing films of all time… Even though it’s predecessor was not nearly as well known. You think the Avengers can top that? People flooded the theaters based on Batman Begins (and on Heath Ledger, but Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, this being the end of the trilogy, and the rumors of Batman’s death probably overcome the nature of Ledger’s performance), so what happens to a movie when it follows TDK? Titanic better be scared, because this movie will slaughter all competition, without a doubt. Avengers is going to suffer from trying to cram three giant stars into one film. I am sure it will be fine, but his endeavor is too large for Marvel to support.
99minutes

Agreed with Tyler.
You should compare the success of the directors, and in this case, there have been multiple directors for the Marvel movies, but only one (Chris Nolan) for the recent Batman franchise. And, might I add, Chris Nolan alone is doing excellent.

Not just with the Batman movies, but with all his movies. Inception was a major hit; so was The Prestige. And of course, The Dark Knight tops them all.

The Dark Knight Rises has my vote in this one. In Nolan, we trust ~
Liamliam1234liam

Also, just because a cast has more big names does not mean it is a better cast. I think the cast in TDKR is of a much higher quality than the cast of the Avengers.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=801110642 Gerald Sheffield

It’s difficult to come away completely objective regarding comic book movies. Instead of direct comparison, maybe address the qualities which help generate great buzz for both movies. Somewhere in the middle, both movies appeal to the general audience, but for different reasons. There’s a dark, thought provoking since from TDKR. Where as we come away feeling good about ourselves after watching Avengers. Some would suggest that TDKR also breeds some feeling of OWS and the demonstrations felt globally. However, there is still not much to know about Avengers other than the first trailer with the exception of the speculatory Skrull appearence.
http://twitter.com/bobmoviemann movie mann

The quality of actors in TDKR is much higher than in The Avengers.
Who judges how good a cast is based on their box office numbers?!
ajil

Dumb article.This is the first time i came across someone comparing avengers with tdkr.TDKR is definitely more anticipated than avengers.Its like using TDKR to create a buzz for the avengers.
Jeremy

He posted facts here though, just because you want TDKR to be more anticipated doesn’t make it so. The Avengers has more likes on Facebook, FACT. That doesn’t mean The Avengers is more anticipated, but that says a lot about how close they are in anticipation than what YOU seem to think. And in most polls The Avengers always comes in first, second or third. rotating between TDKR and The Hobbit depending on the site. Don’t ever think your opinion is above FACTS.
Malone

I think this speaks for itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH8AQNirXxI
http://twitter.com/dolores_haze Dolores Haze

“The Hobbit” will probably win the box office crown of 2012… just saying. Superhero movies do great box office overseas, but not quite as well as non-superhero fantasy movies. With the growing importance of the foreign box office, I’d bet that “The Hobbit” is almost guaranteed to gross over $1b and win the box office of 2012.

“Avengers” vs. TDKR

Fandango just had a poll of thousands of moviegoers and “The Hobbit” and “Avengers” are the only 2 movies that are listed as must-see blockbusters for both men and women. Men picked “The Hobbit” and “Avengers” as #1 and #2, respectively. Women chose them as #2 and #5, respectively. TDKR only showed up as #3 on the men’s list. This is relevant because last year’s poll had 4 movies that appeared on both lists: HP8, “The Hangover 2,” “Pirates 4,” and “Transformers 3″ — i.e. three of the highest grossing movies, each making over $1b each. Based on this, I’d give the edge slightly to “The Avengers” — it’s not only nerd money that goes into a box office success. The poll indicates that TDKR has greater anticipation amongst fanboys but not the general moviegoing public.

On the other hand, 3rd movies of superhero series tend to make the most money — see: Spidey, X-Men — irrespective of quality. And it’s the last Nolan Batman movie, end of a trilogy, momentum going in. TDK grossed over $1b worldwide, while no Marvel movie has ever done so. Evidence points to TDKR out-grossing its predecessor, while “Avengers” falling a bit short.

My gut says: “Avengers” makes something in the $700-900m range. TDKR makes $800m-1b range. And “The Hobbit” walks away with the crown. And a note that great box office doesn’t equate to a quality movie, no matter what the results.
Nelson

TDKR has 4 oscar winning cast members. The Avenger has none. But forget the cast how could someone ever compare these two movies. TDKR is the best movie of 2012 hands down there is no comparison period. The only movie that has a chance against TDKR is The Hobbit.
felix wright

LOL DC fans…
Guest

Well I DID check your “facts” and guess what? Your facts are wrong. Mostly because the Dark Knight Rises doesn’t have an official Facebook page. And I say official meaning that there isn’t a page that says “The Dark Knight Rises”. Although, there IS a page that is titled “Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Untitled Batman Sequel” and again, guess what? The amount of members that page, which doesn’t even have the movie’s title and only mentions the previous two movies SMASHES the amount of likes on the Avengers’ page. The Avengers page has 15,553, which is admirable, but the Batman page that I just mentioned has over 40,000 members!!!! Last time I checked, 40,000 was bigger than 15,000, by more than double. So….sorry, you’re wrong.

Also, the majority of the online polls that I’ve seen have TDKR as the number one most anticipated movie. I don’t know what sites you’ve been on. And not only that, but when I’m talking with my friends about what movies we’re anticipating, I actually TRY to bring up Avengers. However, the majority of the time they say, “oh, that’s cool, but what I’m really pumped for is The Dark Knight sequel.” Just face the facts, TDKR is going to be bigger than Avengers. They’re both going to be great, but TDKR will probably be better, and more anticipated. I mean, how can it not:

1) The general public (as in, non-comic fans) have no idea who the Avengers are. But EVERYONE knows Batman, simply from popular culture; and

2) TDKR is working off of the legacy left by TDK, which is the highest grossing movie of the entire genre and is loved, even to this day, by most audiences.
Guest

Oh and IMDb, one of the most credible movie websites has TDKR as the #1 most anticipated movie, with Avengers coming in at #2.
Guest

What, LOL DC fans? LOL that TDK was the best movie of the entire comic book movie genre? LOL that people still talk about how AMAZING TDK was to this very day? Or LOL how TDK SMASHED Iron Man’s record at the box office?

I think it should be LOL Marvel fans for trying to kid yourselves into thinking that the public would rather watch a movie about a superhero team that they’ve NEVER HEARD OF over a movie that is the conclusion to an incredible trilogy chronicling the life of not only one of comic book’s most famous characters, but of pop culture’s most enduring icons.

Being a fan of comics means that you shouldn’t condemn a character if or a movie simply because it has another company’s logo on it. You’re not a TRUE comic fan unless you like both. I’m excited for both Avengers and TDKR, but if we’re being honest, TDKR will most probably do better at the box office. Get over it and grow up…..
Mike C.

i remember reading an article where robert dawny jr. said he didn’t really like TDK. lol.
guest

Batman is cool, he really is but The Avengers is going to win this one. You batman lovers often forget that the reason soooo many people went to go see the Dark Knight is because of Heath Ledgers death and batmans greatest enemy… the Joker. The DKR villian is Bane which almost no one knows about except nerds. The has been building this for 5 years with indivdual movies making alot of money themselves and now with all of them together I see Avengers being the first billion dollar movie for Marvel and Disney.

I will see them both but deffinitly more excited for Earths Mideost Heros!!!