Throughout the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, comic book fans had seen their fair share of DC Comics heroes grace the big screen, with both Superman and Batman getting a number of feature films, but Marvel fans had to settle for small-screen adventures for decades. In 2000, things changed entirely for true believers, as 20th Century Fox delivered the live-action X-Men, having secured the rights from Marvel at a time when the comics publisher was struggling financially. While comic fans were well aware of the characters, the film’s success wasn’t a guarantee, marking an ambitious endeavor featuring somewhat obscure characters in an ensemble mostly comprised of lesser-known stars.
That gamble paid off both financially and critically, with X-Men going on to earn nearly $300 million worldwide on a budget of roughly $75 million, while the film sits at 81% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only was the film a success on its own merits, it also proved that Marvel characters had just as much big-screen potential as DC Comics characters, resulting in Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, and Daredevil all getting their own films in subsequent years. Despite the 2000s seeing both highs and lows for superhero cinema, it was X-Men‘s effectiveness that paved the way for more Marvel films, eventually leading to the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the release of X-Men, fans took to social media to share their appreciation for the certified game-changing superhero adventure.
Appreciation
When I was a kid I watched the X-Men animated show. Cyclops was my favorite hero at the time. He’s still top 3.
โ JฮY (@JayVillarreal_) July 14, 2020
I though James Marsden was the perfect guy to play Cyclops because he looked so much like the cartoon.
I appreciate this movie A LOT.#XMen20 pic.twitter.com/dHrAVBhVLo
Wait, Really?
Was this seriously the tagline for the first X-Men movie pic.twitter.com/6oHMmWktP6
โ Adam Attley (@AdamAttley) July 14, 2020
Feels Like Yesterday
Good lord… it feels like yesterday. The X-Men movie came out 20 years ago in this date. Yeah I geeked out during it. pic.twitter.com/CAGlre8gdt
โ Lamar the Revenger (@RevengerLamar) July 14, 2020
Most Important Movie
Happy 20 years to X-Men. Likely the most important comic book movie ever made. pic.twitter.com/MQynJjL1MT
โ Donovan Erskine (@Donimals_) July 14, 2020
Collector Comic
Happy 20th Anniversary to the original X-Men movie from the year 2000. I still have my comic book that the theater employees gave us from opening day, when I saw them movie with my uncle. #XMen pic.twitter.com/KYYzZlpO0V
โ ๐ธ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ (@AV__Tweeting) July 14, 2020
Blade, Actually
The first X-Men movie gets the credit for helping kickstart Hollywood’s superhero craze that should be going to Blade (1998) instead
โ Gucci Manesa Musa (@CineMasai_) July 14, 2020
Set the Tone
20 years ago today, X-Men was released in theaters. As the first big comic book movie of the new millennium, it set the tone for future productions, such as its own sequels, Sony’s Spider-Man films, the Dark Knight trilogy, and the MCU and DCEU. pic.twitter.com/G1BPFaHbMw
โ Platitudinous (29 days ๐) (@Platitudinous_X) July 14, 2020
Risk Takers
The First CBM that took me to the world of loving the Genre was The X-Men Franchise & Raimi Spider-Man.
โ Movies That Maher w The Viking (@MovieBuff100) July 14, 2020
I loved how unique & different each film was even the so called bad ones, they took risks & pushed the characters.
Felt Grounded & real in tones#XMen20 pic.twitter.com/lzQifoNY3Z
A New Era
On this day 20 years ago, โX-Menโ was released in theaters. The film made $296.3 million at the box-office, spear-heading the modern superhero era of movies #xmen #XMen20 pic.twitter.com/KtStzcBfcR
โ The Drive-In (@thedriveinpod) July 14, 2020
Happy 20th
Happy 20th Anniversary of the original X-MEN movie from 2000. pic.twitter.com/IXgU0N8HEB
โ Guts (@gutsthebadass) July 14, 2020
