Adam Devine believes superhero movies “ruined” traditional comedies by becoming Hollywood’s new formula for what a comedy film should be.
The actor, who is best known for roles in Modern Family and Pitch Perfect, appeared on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast where he bemoaned the state of comedy movies in 2023.
“You watch comedies nowadays and you’re like, this is not a fucking comedy,” Devine said. “Where are the jokes? Where are the bits? There’s still good [comedy] shows, but movie comedy… it’s hard. My theory: I think Marvel ruined it.
“I feel like superhero movies ruined comedies because you go to the theatre and you expect to watch something that cost $200million to make, and comedy movies aren’t that. So you’re like, ‘Why would I spend the same amount of money to go watch a little comedy in the theatre if I can spend the same amount of money and go see something that is worth $200million?’ And they still make those movies kind of funny, like, ‘Oh my god, is that raccoon talking? This is hilarious!’ Which it is, but it’s not a real comedy.”
He added: “Every studio used to put out several comedies a year. And there were like 45 comedies in the theatre every year. So every week or so, there’s a new comedy in the theatres. Now, last year, there was like six or seven. It’s crazy.”
Devine recently starred in and produced Netflix action comedy The Out-Laws, alongside Pierce Brosnan, Nina Dobrev and Ellen Barkin.
At the time of writing (August 8), James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3 is the third highest-grossing movie of 2023, earning over $845million globally. The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie take the top two slots respectively.
The next Marvel project is Loki season two starring Tom Hiddleston, which premieres October 6 on Disney+. Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani star in the studio’s next big-screen outing, The Marvels on November 10.
