- Superhero movies dominated the box office in the 2010s.
- Plenty of superhero movies this decade shaped and defined the genre and made their mark on the larger world of entertainment, despite Martin Scorsese's recent critical comments about them not being "cinema."
- From "Avengers" to "Joker," Business Insider selected eight of the most significant superhero movies from the last ten years.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The superhero genre dominated moviegoing in the 2010s, especially when it came to box-office receipts.
Some in the industry weren't pleased with that. Veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese, the director of "Goodfellas" and the upcoming Netflix movie "The Irishman," made headlines recently for saying superhero movies, Marvel ones in particular, were "not cinema," comparing them to theme park rides. (He then explained his thoughts in a New York Times op-ed.)
But Scorsese's comments, and the reaction to them, show how inescapable superhero movies have become. It's thanks in large part to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now the highest-grossing movie franchise in history with 23 movies (and more coming). But the genre has leaked into all corners of entertainment.
The cultural ascension of superhero movies has sparked debates about their place at the Oscars ("Black Panther", "Joker") and inspired movements that have confused (or angered) the internet ("Release the Snyder Cut").
When reflecting on the decade of superhero movies, certain ones come to mind that had an impact on pop culture and the entertainment industry as a whole. For this list, Business Insider selected the eight superhero movies that had the most impact. For brevity, the list is limited to one movie for a character (so one "Spider-Man" movie, one "Avengers" movie, etc.). These movies aren't necessarily the best superhero movies of the decade, but rather the ones that shaped or defined the genre, for better or worse.
Below are the eight most significant superhero movies of the 2010s: