Data analysis reveals the Top 10 most popular superhero movies in America
It should come as no surprise that the superhero movie genre has been dominating the silver screen for at least the last decade and is only now beginning to lose its super grip on audiences. And whether you’re a Marvel or a DC fan, there’s been something for everyone if want to go back as far as 2005 and the release of Batman Begins – the first in that trilogy of Batman films under the direction of Christopher Nolan. The genre took on a life of its own a few years later with Marvel’s first Iron Man movie – which was responsible for ushering in the rest of the superhero films culminating in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
But which of those treasured flicks were the most popular? Well, new research reveals the most popular superhero movies in the country, with a surprise title taking the top #1 spot.
The study, conducted by casino sweepstake comparison site CasinosSweeps, examined Google search data to discover the most popular superhero movies in America and across each state, based on the average monthly search volume for search terms related to more than 100 superhero movies. To avoid recency bias, the data analyzed the lowest three months of search volume for each movie, and the movies were ranked by the average of these three numbers.
The research revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy takes the crown as the most popular superhero movie in America. Released in 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy has since become one of the most beloved and successful franchises within the MCU, with the most recent Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 grossing over $841 million worldwide, making it the second-highest grossing movie of 2023 so far.
Across the country, Americans search for terms associated with watching Guardians of the Galaxy an average of 914,437 times per month and is the most searched-for superhero movie in all 50 states, placing the Marvel blockbuster firmly in the top spot.
Avengers: Endgame ranks as the second most popular superhero movie nationwide. Released in 2019, Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame is the second highest-grossing movie in history, making approximately $2,797,501,328 at the worldwide box office. Avengers: Endgame is the second most searched-for superhero movie in 29 states overall, with searches for the movie receiving a combined monthly average of 485,813 searches across America.
Ranking in third place is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The first of only two animated films on the list, along with Disney’s Big Hero 6, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse follows Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse. The 2018 movie has a combined average of 464,670 searches a month, including search terms such as ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse characters’ and ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse cast’.
The study placed The Dark Knight in fourth place, receiving an average of 447,357 monthly combined searches nationwide. Frequently considered one of the best and most critically acclaimed superhero movie of all time, The Dark Knight (2008) features a star-studded cast of Christian Bale as Batman, the late Heath Ledger as The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face. All three films from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy rank in the top 10, with The Dark Knight Rises (2012) ranking in seventh place and Batman Begins (2005) in ninth.
The study revealed that Spider-Man: Homecoming ranks as the fifth most popular superhero movie The first installment of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy released in 2017, Spider-Man: Homecoming receives an average of 429,007 searches a month for search terms related to watching the movie. For instance, search terms such as ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer’, ‘watch Spider-Man: Homecoming’, and ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming stream online’ were analyzed.
The top 10 most popular superhero movies in America are rounded out by Thor: Ragnarok (2017) ranking in sixth place, The Dark Knight Rises (2012) in seventh, followed by Big Hero 6 (2014), Batman Begins (2005), and Avengers Infinity War (2018) in eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.
A spokesperson for CasinosSweeps commented on the findings:
“This data offers a fascinating insight into which superhero movies are the most popular across the country, with the unmatched popularity of Guardians of the Galaxy showing no signs of slowing down, likely heightened by the success of the new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The findings are also a testament to the unwavering popularity of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, often praised for revitalizing the Batman franchise and elevating the superhero genre as a whole.”
| The top 10 most popular superhero movies in America | ||
| Rank: | Movie: | Combined monthly average total searches: |
| 1. | Guardians of the Galaxy | 914,437 |
| 2. | Avengers: Endgame | 485,813 |
| 3. | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | 464,670 |
| 4. | The Dark Knight | 447,357 |
| 5. | Spider-Man: Homecoming | 429,007 |
| 6. | Thor: Ragnarok | 303,300 |
| 7. | The Dark Knight Rises | 290,867 |
| 8. | Big Hero 6 | 281,220 |
| 9. | Batman Begins | 279,380 |
| 10. | Avengers: Infinity War | 279,330 |
Sources: Google Keyword Planner.
Methodology: Monthly Google keywords search volumes were analyzed for each month between June 2019 and May 2023 for every superhero film. Specific combinations were excluded in order to ensure searches were for the movie rather than the superhero (e.g., “Captain Marvel” & “[movie]”). Due to the period of data available (2019-2023), recent releases have inflated average search volumes when including their release month. To minimize this, the lowest 3 months of search volume for each movie were found, and the movies were ranked by the average of these 3 numbers.
| Each state’s top 5 favorite superhero movie | |||||
| State | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
| Alabama | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Alaska | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Arizona | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Arkansas | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
| California | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Colorado | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Connecticut | Guardians of the Galaxy | The Dark Knight | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Delaware | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Florida | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Georgia | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Hawaii | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Idaho | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight |
| Illinois | Guardians of the Galaxy | The Dark Knight | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Indiana | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Iowa | Guardians of the Galaxy | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
| Kansas | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Kentucky | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Louisiana | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Maine | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Maryland | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Massachusetts | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Michigan | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Minnesota | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Mississippi | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Missouri | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Montana | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight |
| Nebraska | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Nevada | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| New Hampshire | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
| New Jersey | Guardians of the Galaxy | The Dark Knight | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| New Mexico | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| New York | Guardians of the Galaxy | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| North Carolina | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| North Dakota | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight |
| Ohio | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Oklahoma | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Oregon | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight |
| Pennsylvania | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Rhode Island | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| South Carolina | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| South Dakota | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Tennessee | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
| Texas | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Utah | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight | Avengers: Endgame |
| Vermont | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight | Avengers: Endgame |
| Virginia | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming |
| Washington | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| West Virginia | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Homecoming | The Dark Knight |
| Wisconsin | Guardians of the Galaxy | Avengers: Endgame | The Dark Knight | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
| Wyoming | Guardians of the Galaxy | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | The Dark Knight |
Did your favorite superhero film make the top 10?
To see what the immediate future looks like for upcoming superhero films, see the video below.
(Source: CasinosSweeps) / (Cover photo: Image credit: Facebook)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
