Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux. Photo: Supplied
It's superhero saturation at the box office with Batman's offsiders claiming screen time without Batman.
It's been a solid two decades since the superhero blockbuster took over Hollywood and refused to leave.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, is now the biggest film franchise in history with box office takings approaching the US$30 billion mark and a cultural dominance that seems inescapable.
Meanwhile, on the DC side of the comic juggernaut divide, Joker: Folie à Deux is a sequel to the highly successful movie set in the Batman universe without Batman. Did it work? Based on the initial reviews and box office takings, no.
Is Joker a sign of Hollywood stepping away from the formula that has evolved over the first decades of the 21st century? Or is it just a flash in the pan destined to fizzle out? Is DC set to grasp the crown of dominance from Marvel? Or does that crown even truly exist?
Veteran movie reviewer Darren Bevan has his own take on where the industry is heading.
"Things come in peaks and troughs, there has been a backlash against Marvel and the amount of films they've put out for the same characters. But you have to realise there are audiences for this and if you're a film executive that's what you're chasing."
While a slew of mediocrity from Marvel and a continued failure to launch for DC seems to paint a dire picture, Bevan believes it's far from over.
"People will start to return to superhero films and wisely, the studios that make them will realise that by not swamping the marketplace and by carefully curating a content schedule that's very much tailored towards satiating new audiences rather than overflowing them, that will prove to be the box office gold."
Unlike the cowboy genre of the mid-20th century that dominated Hollywood for its run, it seems superheroes might have more staying power to them as long as executives play their cards right.
Comics scholar Neal Curtis from the University of Auckland has his own thoughts on the direction the genre is moving in and what we can expect. He believes that only a socially progressive angle can see the industry through and it might not have what it takes to move forward.
"I don't have that much faith in the future of superhero films, because I don't have that much faith in Hollywood. I don't think Hollywood is brave enough to do the quite radical films it ought to be doing, it won't do enough of the pro-social stuff.
"It's not the films, it's not the genre, it's not the comics… it's not the concept of the superhero that's lacking, it's the courage of movie executives, that's what's lacking."
Only time will tell if the superhero movie is set for a comeback, or if the end is already here. The ball is very much in Hollywood's court.
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