In 1998, when Marvel was on the brink of bankruptcy, the company took a desperate step and made an intriguing offer to Sony Pictures studio. Trying to patch holes in its own budget, Marvel’s management proposed selling all its superheroes to the giant for a symbolic sum of 25 million dollars.
Sony Missed Out on All Marvel Heroes
Interestingly, the list of heroes included comic book stars such as Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and many others, both positive and negative heroes. However, Sony Pictures was only interested in one superhero – Spider-Man, for whom they paid 10 million dollars and 5% of the profits. The first three movies about Spider-Man’s good deeds recouped the studio’s expenses and allowed profits from children’s toys and souvenirs. But the hero bored comic fans, and Sony Pictures’ revenues began to decline.
According to the influential Wall Street Journal, the studio’s leadership, represented by Yar Landa, made a foolish mistake. After a decade, the other Marvel superheroes helped build a massive cinematic universe and earned billions of dollars. Under Kevin Feige’s leadership, Marvel alone earned 13 billion US dollars at the global box office. When including franchise sales of toys and souvenirs, the total amount increases by at least one and a half times.
