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Here ’s our unequivocal ranking of every FoxMarvelmovie , running from 2000’sX - Mento 2018’sDeadpool 2 . Nowadays , moviegoers are used to the idea of Marvel being a big name . Back in the 1990s , though , they were just a comic Koran publishing company who ’d been trying to get pic version of their character made for decades . The bottom fell out of the amusing Koran market in the mid-’90s , and Marvel was force to sell off the film right to a legion of their most pop superheroes in club to avoid failure .
Fox purchased the film right for a number of heroes , and in the year 2000 they released the firstX - Menmovie . It was an unexpected hit , grossing nearly $ 300 million worldwide against a budget of just $ 75 million . X - Menblazed the trail for a moving ridge of Marvel ( and even DC ) superhero picture show through the 2000s , and within a few years Marvel was considering the possibility of producing their own picture show rather than continuing to sell off the movie rights . Without the success ofX - Men , it ’s in all probability true to say Marvel Studios would never have get off the background .
Related : Here ’s Everything That Disney Now Owns From Fox ( & What It mean )
After all , Marvel Studios chair Kevin Feige got his start in the industriousness act under producer Lauren Shuler Donner on the originalX - Menfilms . Of of course , not all of Fox ’s Marvel movies have been particularly adept . In fact , some of them have been jolly direful , withFantastic Fourdirector slate his own film on Twitter on the day of its release . So allow ’s take a feeling at the highlights ( and lowlights ) of Fox ’s Marvel motion-picture show .
16. Fantastic Four (2015)
Fantastic Fouris a film with serious problems . Director Josh Trank wanted to create a superhero body - repulsion movie , but Fox mislay confidence in him after some of his original ideas leaked online . As a result , the final finished production is a strange , uneven motion-picture show that feels like it ’s suffer from an identity crisis . The body horror , oddly enough , is probably the most effective part ofFantastic Four ; but that approaching is so at betting odds with the overarching franchise that it just seems bizarre .
Fox had originally hoped thatFantastic Fourwould launch a new superhero franchise that they could link into theX - Menfilms , allowing them to produce their own apportion cinematic universe . Suffice to say , with the release ofFantastic Fourthat plan was deadened on arriver . The stars - Miles Teller , Kate Mara , Michael B. Jordan , and Jamie Bell - have been lancinating to forget this moving picture ever happened , withBell " bitter disappointed"and Jordan relieved he got to makea better impression on superhero fans inBlack Panther .
15. Elektra (2005)
TheDaredevilspinoff nobody really take for , Rob Bowman’sElektrafeatured Jennifer Garner as the resurrected assassin . Garner did her best with what she was render , but her heart was n’t in it ; as she openly admitted in boob tube interview at the time , she was only on add-in because of contractual obligations she ’d signed up to beforeDaredevil . Elektrawas a critical and commercial unsuccessful person , gross $ 56.7 million worldwide . It was slate for a tone - deaf script , poor dialog , and sloppy directing .
In the aftermath ofElektra , Fox gave up on theDaredevilfilm rights , allowing them to revert back to Marvel . long time later , Marvel ’s Ike Perlmutter would splendidly point toElektraas grounds that female person - led superhero moving picture just do n’t work in the box seat office . The succeeder ofWonder Womanand Marvel ’s ownCaptain Marvelhas prove him untimely ; it ’s more a showcase thatbadsuperhero films are the unity that do n’t do .
Related : How Marvel ’s hothead arrest Elektra Wrong
14. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
With the firstFantastic Fourgrossing more than $ 330 million worldwide , Fox greenlit a sequel , ascension of the Silver Surfer . inhale by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby ’s Galactus trilogy , it saw Ioan Grufford , Jessica Alba , Chris Evans , and Michael Chiklis reprise their roles as the Fantastic Four , cosmic - powered superheroes who are combat to pull through the world from cosmic threats . Fox primitively planned this to be the 2nd in a trilogy of films , evenentertaining dreams of launching aSilver Surferspinoff . All these hopes were pall whenRise of the Silver Surferperformed poorly at the box office , and on this occasion laughable Word of God fan agreed with the critics in pour out disdain upon the film . It will forever be remembered for a surprisingly poor translation of Galactus , which reimagined the Devourer of Worlds as a sorting of cosmic cloud .
One of the highlights ofRise of the Silver Surferis itsStan Lee cameo , in which the Fantastic Four ’s Godhead was reverse away from the nuptials of Reed and Sue . This is lifted straight from the comic strip , and the cameo alone meansRise of the Silver Surferwill always be remembered fondly by Marvel buff - even if they do n’t consider it a undecomposed adjustment .
13. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Back in 2009 , the big screen tarradiddle of theX - Menfranchise look to have issue forth to an end . But Fox wanted to keep the franchise going , not least in monastic order to retain theX - Menfilm rights , and as a event they came up with the idea of doing lineage movies for Marvel ’s merry mutants . ten - Men Origins : Wolverine , starring Hugh Jackman as Logan , was intend to be the first of these spinoff stemma stories . It was just a success , and the studio quick ditched these plans .
X - Men Origins : Wolverineis something of a interracial udder . The ideas are all there , but nothing quite come together cohesively . Action chronological succession are well - directed , but sabotage by sloppy CGI that really has n’t age well . regrettably , director Gavin Hood even went for CGI claw rather than prosthetics , fatally undermine his film . The picture ’s worst sinning is undeniably its waste of Ryan Reynolds , who was cast as Deadpool - a character whose lip was stitched up for the third bit .
Related :X - Men : A Timeline Of The Mutant Franchise
12. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
maneuver by Brett Ratner , X - Men : The Last Standbrought an unsatisfactory close to the firstX - Mentrilogy . In possibility the film was prompt by Chris Claremont ’s classical " Dark Phoenix Saga " from the comics , with Famke Janssen resurrected as an out - of - command Jean Grey . unluckily , James Marsden ’s water flea was kill off in curt monastic order , with the focus going on the strange , obsessive pseudo - relationship between Jean and Wolverine .
subject were made worse by a group B - game involving a mutant cure , that at times seemed more like the A - plot of ground than the story of Jean Grey . Too many idea and characters are tossed in for little apparent rationality , and natural action sequences are effective but lack any genuine sense of mortal . X - humanity : The Last Standcame close to killing off the entireX - Menfranchise . Most of the characters were left bushed or depowered , and for a while it looked as though Fox’sX - Menfilms had come to an close .
11. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
direct by Bryan Singer , X - piece : Apocalypsekicks off when the powerful , ageless mutant Apocalypse is unlatched from his ancient sleep . He resolve to burn the world with atomic fire , and it does n’t take long for him to hybridize itinerary with the X - Men . Apocalypseis most illustrious for bring out a novel generation of X - Men ; Tye Sheridan ’s Cyclops , Sophie Turner ’s Jean Grey , and Kodi Smit - McPhee ’s Nightcrawler . However , the playscript really does n’t give them much of a luck to radiate , instead focalise on the star baron of James McAvoy ’s Xavier , Michael Fassbender ’s Magneto , and Jennifer Lawrence ’s Mystique . The second number is really a side - story that ’s an alibi for an extended - and frankly pointless -Wolverine cameo .
X - military personnel : Apocalypseis most notable for a smart bit of worldplay . In popular culture , an " apocalypse " is a disastrous , world - threatening event . But , in ancient time , an apocalypse is actually an launching , a Book of Revelation of something that was antecedently hidden . In operative terms , X - Men : Apocalypseis the debut of Jean Grey ’s rightful top executive , as she reveals just what she ’s capable of when she take down Apocalypse . It intelligibly signposted the future direction of the franchise .
Page 2 of 3 : Fox / Marvel Movies , # 10 - 6
10. Daredevil (2003)
year before he became Batman , Ben Affleck starred as attorney - flex - vigilante Matt Murdock inDaredevil . Directed by Mark Steven Johnson , Daredevilpitted the Man Without Fear against Michael Clarke Duncan ’s Kingpin and Colin Farrel ’s Bullseye . Affleck put in a lot of effort for the function , process with the unreasoning performer Tom Sullivan in edict to understand what it finger like to be blind ; the pic ’s special effects were actually quite innovative , particularly when it came to realizing Daredevil ’s Radar Sense . Unfortunately , though , the plot was basically a paint - by - numbers superhero lineage story . Daredevilwas a commercial-grade dud , grossing just $ 179 million in the global box office .
There ’s a sense in which it ’s hard to rankDaredevil . The R - rated Director ’s Cut was of a far superior tone to the theatrical departure , andJohnson is justly gallant of it . " We had n’t seen a superhero descend home cover in cicatrix , and chewing on pain in the neck pill , " he noted , " and it was kind of unforgiving . You ’re not going to get that right now from a Disney - owned Marvel case . "
Related : How Daredevil Season 3 ’s Bullseye Compares To Colin Farrell ’s
9. Fantastic Four (2005)
Next up is the firstFantastic Fourfilm , starring Ioan Grufford , Jessica Alba , Chris Evans , and Michael Chiklis as Marvel ’s First Family . Where most of Fox ’s superhero movies pivot man towards the dark and gritty , director Tim Story decide to honor all the cheesiness and lightweight humour of the original strip . It has its highlights - Chiklis star in several memorable scenes , pull off an effective carrying into action in spite of the heavy makeup - but on the wholeFantastic Fourdemonstrates that a risible book construct from the 1960s does actually need a bit of adapting to work on the swelled screen .
Jessica Alba has been vituperative about the whole experience , tellingSyfythat it even made her weigh giving up act . " The managing director was like , ' It looks too real . It look too painful . Can you be pretty when you call out ? Cry pretty , Jessica . ' He was like , ' Do n’t do that matter with your case . Just make it monotone . We can CGI the tears in . ' "
8. The Wolverine (2013)
There ’s a acuate jump in quality betweenFantastic Fourand James Mangold’sThe Wolverine . Set in the aftermath ofX - Men : The Last Stand , The Wolverineis a character slice in which Jackman ’s Logan is struggling to mete out with pain and grief . He ’s gradually draw to Japan , where he gains a crony in Rila Fukushima ’s Yukio and an ally - and potential fan - in Tao Okamoto ’s Mariko . The plot is adapted from one of the most popular Chris Claremont stories of all metre , and a bit of scene are regurgitate reliably as part of the tale , including a howling sequence in which the Hand bring Wolverine down .
While this is a hard film , it is n’t really Jackman who shines in it . Fukushima was perfectly cast , with Mangold dramatically reinventing her amusing book reference ; she alter from a black - adorn assassinator to a manga - instigate bodyguard . It exploit absolutely , and Fukushima make happy in the activeness scene , admitting she had a blast .
Related:‘The Wolverine ' Set Interview : Rila Fukushima
7. X-Men: First Class (2011)
2011’sX - adult male : First Classwas essentially a chic direction of relaunching theX - Menfranchise . Directed by Matthew Vaughn , it was visualize as a prequel to the originalX - Mentrilogy , revealing the backstory of Charles Xavier , Magneto , and Mystique . Fox struck gold with a series of gamey - profile castings , with James McAvoy play the young Xavier , Michael Fassbender as Magneto , and Jennifer Lawrence becoming the shapeshifting Mystique . The plot is a voguish one , wander the ex - Men into existent - worldly concern history in a version of the Cuban Missile Crisis . It ’s something of a fictional character piece , explore the human relationship between Xavier and Magneto and laying the foundations for the sulfurous contention of theX - Mentrilogy .
Unfortunately , this film also mark the peak where theX - man continuityreally began to get a uncollectible rep . The inclusion of Emma Frost unconditionally contradictedX - Men Origins : Wolverine , while the childhood friendly relationship between Xavier and Mystique does n’t quite lick in light source of their adversarial family relationship in the first threeX - Menmovies . Still , First Classwas a box office winner , gross over $ 350 million worldwide and pull in positivist review . The future of theX - Menfranchise was secure .
6. Deadpool (2016)
One of the most pop X - Men character from the ' 90 , Deadpool had long been a subject of interest to Fox . They ’d sick Ryan Reynolds for the part inX - humankind Origins : Wolverine , and at the time had even contemplated a spinoffDeadpoolmovie . But that film disappointed , and candidly made very strange conclusion when it come to Deadpool . For years , the undertaking seemed to be dead in the pee .
Then , to everybody ’s surprisal , test footage leaked online and went viral . Fox relent in the face of bear witness demand , and Reynolds get his hazard to redeem the theatrical role . He flourished in the role , winning over viewers the widecracking , fourth - wall - breaking Merc With A Mouth . Deadpoolgrossed a stunning $ 783 million against a budget of just $ 58 million , a staggering achievement chip in its R - valuation . Reynolds was joined by Stefan Kapičić as the interpreter of Colossus , and Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead , with the latter character dramatically reinvented for the film . The success ofDeadpoolemboldened Fox to take a more observational , and frankly far more successful , approach to their superhero picture .
And yet , it ’s important to take note thatDeadpoolisn’t perfect . It ’s a triumph of stylus over kernel ; when regard through a critical lens the plot of ground is frankly rather lackluster . But that does n’t really matter ; it ’s the performances that made this cinema a hit .
Page 3 of 3 : The Top 5 Fox Superhero Movies
5. X-Men (2000)
This was the pic that part it all . Directed by Bryan Singer , X - Menwas Fox ’s first big screen Marvel adaptation . divertingly enough , one of the associate producer was Kevin Feige , who would go on to become the visionary of the MCU ; in fact , he had a cameo as a Weapon X technician , but the cameo did n’t make it past the editing room floor .
X - Menfeatured a grand cast , including the likes of Patrick Stewart , Sir Ian McKellen , and Hugh Jackman . This was back before anybody believed comic book adaptations could process on the openhanded screen , and as a result Singer espouse a much darker , grittier shade . That feeler is much criticized now , but in accuracy back in 2000 it was soft to understand ; traditional comic account book adaptations were thought to have been killed off byBatman & Robin , and everybody thought Fox was wise to take a different glide path . The game honor the comic , and there was a better balance of characters than in some of the sequels . Stewart and McKellen absolutely strike , while Jackman became an instant fan - favorite .
Related : All The Adam - Men Movies In Chronological Order
4. Deadpool 2 (2018)
Last year’sDeadpool 2expanded the Merc With A Mouth ’s world , introducing Josh Brolin as Cable , Julian Dennison as Firefist , Zazie Beetz as Domino , and Shioli Kutsuna as a raw reading of Yukio . This time around the secret plan was afun time travel adventure , with Cable travel back in time to drink down the young Firefist so as to rewrite chronicle . It ’s a jolly traditional clip change of location trope , butDeadpool 2played it out well . The surprise appearance of the Juggernaut - voiced by Reynolds himself so Fox did n’t need to hire another thespian and the mystery did n’t break online - entranced fans .
Deadpool 2matched the first film , gross $ 785 million in the global box office and securing the future of the dealership even after the Disney / Fox acquisition . One major subplot laid the instauration forX - Force , but it ’s nameless whether or not Marvel will keep with those plans . Only time will state whether or not this becomes another of the X - Men enfranchisement ’s loose ends .
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Bryan Singer’sDays of Future Pastis one of the strongest of all theX - Menmovies . It ’s a smart time travel film that unites both the original X - Men cast and the First Class adept , with Wolverine attempting to rewrite story for foreclose a dystopian hereafter . It was also an attempt to " fix " the franchise , with Wolverine creating a whole young timeline , meaning the original trilogy - andX - Men Origins : Wolverine- were mostly written out of persistence . Days of Future Pastis a lavish yield , with a issue of standout scenes in which past and future version of character interacted . A fussy highlighting was a Quicksilver view in which Evan Peters ' super - speedster saves the day during a prison house break .
Of of course , Days of Future Pastisn’t a perfect film . The focus on Lawrence ’s Mystique does n’t quite work , rather signposting the sense of discontinuity between the First Class and the original trilogy - even before history ’s rewritten . Ellen Page ’s Rogue featured heavily in promotional fabric , but her character was cut , with those scenes only released on DVD and Blu - Ray ina money - making " Rogue Cut " edition . But it ’s still one of Fox ’s best productions .
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2. Logan (2017)
Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart ’s swan song for theX - Menfranchise , James Mangold’sLoganis a stunning part art object . It ’s more of a westerly than your traditional superhero flick , promote with a haunting rendering of Johnny Cash ’s " Hurt , " and ending with a deeply symbolic encounter in which Logan buy the farm barricade amonster created from his own DNA . The picture unleashedDafne Keen as X-23 , a young female ringer of Wolverine ; she utterly reveled in the role , projecting gossamer animalistic vehemence and understandably having a flack . interview respond positively toLogan , get up in the right-down emotion of Wolverine ’s end , and it rightly earn Jackman , Stewart and Keen a drawing string of accolades . This was one flick that really did require an radius - paygrade , with Mangold ’s directing rightfully showing the savageness of Wolverine and X-23 .
Loganisn’t just one of the best Fox Marvel movies ; it ’s one of the best superhero films ever made , the perfect termination to Jackman ’s 17 - year - long tenure as Wolverine . Plus , it was the first superhero movie to be nominated in one of thebigOscar categories - this one being for Best Adapted Screenplay . This film is a reminder that , while Fox ’s run has include film like 2015’sFantastic Four , it ’s also included some unforgettable blockbuster hits .
1. X2 (2003)
But the top slot can only go to Bryan Singer’sX2 : X - Men United , easily the strong movie of the entireX - Menfranchise . Inspired by Chris Claremont’sGod Loves , Man Killsgraphic novel , X2kicks off with an excellent sequence in which Alan Cumming ’s Nightcrawler attacks the White House . The action build up from there , with Brian Cox ’s Colonel Stryker establish an attack on the X - Mansion and will the X - man on their defensive . Their greatest weapon is turn against them , when Stryker attempts to use Xavier ’s telepathy to belt down every mutant on the planet . In the case of this terrible threat , the disco biscuit - Men are forced to ally themselves with their sworn enemies .
The electric arc forces old foes to work together , allowing the chance to explore the character dynamic between Jackman ’s Wolverine and Rebecca Romjin ’s Mystique . Another entertaining subplot explores the tentative love story between Anna Paquin ’s Rogue and Shawn Ashmore ’s Iceman , and there ’s one key scene in which the struggle for mutant rights is subtly duplicate with the seeking for homosexual right in the real world . The motion-picture show is n’t without some problems ; the script notably does n’t really give much clip to James Marsden ’s Cyclops , a character who ’s chronically underserved in the first threeX - Menmovies . But it ’s another classic of the superhero writing style nonetheless .
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