Batman v Superman the hero of Comic-Con

Batman v Superman emerged victorious among the movies and TV shows vying for buzz at Comic-Con International.

Amy Adams, Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck at Comic-Con in San Diego at the weekend.

Fans won’t know who wins the movie’s titular battle until next year, but Batman v Superman emerged victorious among the movies and television shows vying for buzz at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, during the past week.

The superhero film, released by Warner Bros next March, got 7.15 million engagements — anything from liking a video to sharing a friend’s post — across social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr at Comic-Con, according to research company ListenFirst Media.

It narrowly beat zombie TV series The Walking Dead, which got 7.1 million engagements.

Both blew away what many thought would be the dominant force at Comic-Con: Star Wars. Lucasfilm brought the science fiction franchise to this annual gathering of about 130,000 pop-culture lovers for the first time in more than a decade. Fans waited in line as long as two days to see a panel that included six new actors who will appear in December’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, along with Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill from the original trilogy and director JJ Abrams.

Star Wars generated 2.7 million social media engagements during Comic-Con, according to ListenFirst. But Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and The Walking Dead had a key asset Star Wars didn’t: a new trailer that made its debut at Comic-Con and was then released online.

On Saturday morning, 6500 fans at the San Diego Convention Centre’s largest room watched the new Batman v Superman trailer. It gave attendees more insight into the film, which will feature Ben Affleck’s Batman standing up to the Man of Steel, played by Henry Cavill. The footage and a panel discussion with director Zack Snyder and his cast placed an emphasis on the film’s expansive action and gritty tone.

Disney offered a more emotional sell for Star Wars on Friday, with Abrams and nine new and old cast members emphasising their love for the series and dedication to the legacy set by the first three films. Rather than premiering a new trailer, Abrams presented a montage of behind-the-scenes footage and testimonials from cast and crew on set.

The Walking Dead couldn’t be missed at Comic-Con this year, with separate panels for the long-running hit show and a spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead, that will premiere in August.

When data for the two Walking Dead series are combined, they exceeded the social media engagement of Batman v Superman, according to ListenFirst data.

Other Hollywood titles that were hyped at Comic-Con and were among the most discussed online were The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones.

ListenFirst’s data spanned Thursday to Saturday, the first three days of the four-day Comic-Con. Late Saturday, however, one movie became a surprise hit during an evening presentation by 20th Century Fox. Deadpool, a foul-mouthed, deadly antihero movie starring Ryan Reynolds that will be released next February, was previewed for the first time.

Comic-Con attendees appeared thrilled the studio didn’t pare back any of the attitude or extreme violence prevalent in the comic books.

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The Wall Street Journal