Cineworld Sheffield is a 20 screen multiplex cinema based at Valley Centertainment in Sheffield. We show a variety of features, from blockbusters to independent, and also a wealth of Event Cinema, such as Met Opera Live and National Theatre productions. In 2012 we welcomed Sheffield's one and only IMAX screen. Follow Us on Twitter Like Our Facebook Page
With the revamp of our Tumblr page, what better way to get off than to coincide with this month’s big release in Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. However, before we look into the topic at hand, I thought a quick intro as to what you can expect of our new page would get things up and running smoothly.
A conscious decision was made to ensure that you, our followers, relate to us, not as your cinema, but as fellow cinema lovers. We work because we love and we want to show that in as many ways as possible. Our new style page is here to not only entertain (hopefully), but inform of the sides of CineSheff that you don’t particularly see or hear anything about. Maybe you’d like to know about the programming of the times process? Or perhaps, you want to be more aware of how the process works, from booking a film, to it being projected onto our shiny silver screens? Anything in particular you'd like to see? Just 'Ask'! We aim to answer some of the less visited topics such as this, as well as a nice mix of general interest topics from the point of view of our cinema staff. This leads us nicely into our current area of discussion…
With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 being released merely weeks after Marvel Studios’ own Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and with the news hanging around that Captain America 3 will release on the exact same date as the as-of-yet-untitled Superman/Batman project in 2016, the so-called ‘Superhero War’ is in full-force. For anyone unaware, the competition lies in the ownership of rights, both in regards to comic book material and film production. Whilst Marvel Comics owns the rights to both, for instance, Captain America (and the rest of The Avengers as seen on screen together) and Spider-Man, the rights are distributed amongst various production companies. Marvel’s own studio own everything within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Sony Pictures owns all cinematic rights to Spider-Man. On the other side of the ‘war’, DC Comics who produces Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and many others yet to see the bigger screen, have all cinematic rights with Warner Bros. A long-standing mild rivalry has existed between comic book giants Marvel and DC, but the film production conflict is pushing the boundaries of this collision.
The hot talk of the moment is the aforementioned release clash of Captain America 3 and Man of Steel 2, which is really asking questions of each studio. It’s cementing a rivalry into a flat out war and they’re asking questions of each other. DC asks, can you stare our heavyweights in the eye, arguably the two biggest names in heroes, Batman and Superman, without blinking? Marvel merely asks, can you rival our huge cinematic success based on six years of hits? Neither wants to blink, neither wants to shift – a war has well and truly begun.
But the question that has to be asked is, should this be necessary? Should there be conflict at all? My view is no. While it can add to hype, there can only be one outcome of this clash and it doesn’t suit either party. Many people would like to watch both. Many people can’t afford to see both. By putting the choice there, people will have to do just that; choose. Releasing them apart would assess rivalry much more evenly, when the whole market is there for the taking. This clash will knock the opposing film by default, not by quality. Each studio will be hit and they will not want that at all. Each party is likely hoping for a change, it’s just that neither wants to be the ones to make that change and look scared.
But aside from the monetary aspects of the clash, from a purely consumer point of view, why make people choose? These studios have to accept that they need each other. They truly are the Joker to each other’s Batman. They exist because of one another. A failure for one is a failure for all. The genre will thrive by everything being successful. It isn’t about one lot of characters doing better than others, it’s about a solid and popular type of cinema showing it’s worthy of praise, it’s worthy of success and it’s worthy of being one of the most popular genres in recent history.
So in this ‘view from the foyer’, I confidently predict that it’s box office suicide for either side to run with it. A blink is a must if we want this genre to live on in its current standard. If just one of these giants falls, critically or financially, it could lead to a dark path for the cinematic superhero once again. Let us enjoy all, I say, and not have to take sides in such an unnecessary battle. We can only hope that come 2016, we’ll be seeing a genre thriving in quality, and not succumbing to bias.
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