But they were torn apart by critics, and both have a 27% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. The franchise began in 2016 with 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' and then 'Suicide Squad,' which made $873 million and $746 million worldwide, respectively. The DC Extended Universe course corrected after a few misfires. Universal's 'Dark Universe,' based on its classic monsters like Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman, began and died with 2017's 'The Mummy,' which tanked with audiences and critics alike.īelow are 8 cinematic universes that aren't the MCU, and what their status is: Other potential universes didn't live long enough to get that opportunity. has course corrected with successes like 'Aquaman' and 'Shazam!' But after several critical misfires and the franchise's answer to 'The Avengers,' 'Justice League,' disappointing at the box office, Warner Bros. Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe is the easiest franchise to compare to the MCU, in that it took superheroes who had never appeared together on screen before and put them in the same movies.

But it's impossible to deny the impact the franchise has had on how studios think about blockbuster filmmaking, especially seeing how 'Avengers: Endgame' has performed at the box office (spoiler: it's the second biggest movie of all time).

Disney and Marvel Studios have landed on a winning formula that no other studio has replicated. Granted, it's hard to compare other cinematic universes - whether they are currently running, in the works, or were instant flops - to the MCU. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

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