Sunday 30th October
"In a transmedia
environment,
content is repurposed, diversified and spread across multiple devices to
enhance, engage and reach as many viewers as possible. … It is
generally new same expanded
for different
screens, fragmented and
disseminated
on different platforms, quite
possibly incorporating
extra content and channels to extend the viewers’ experience."
Nicoletta
Iacobacci
With its continuous and successful rebooting, the thriving Batman
franchise is an evident example of a transmedia product. Since his first
arrival in 1939, Batman has expanded from its original comic book and has been
adapted and modified to live action and cartoon film as well as television, videogame
and even Lego. With over ten live action Batman films made, and even over fifteen
cartoon adaptations, Batman is a rich media product that clearly satisfies a
global audience. I looked at one of the particular reboots, The Dark
Knight, which exists as a trilogy. Its primary film (Dark Knight), brought $534 million
in America and $469.7 million in other regions, with a worldwide total of
$1 billion. It became the 25th highest-grossing film worldwide, as well as
the highest-grossing film of its release year (2008). The Dark Knight also
became the fourth film in global history to gross more than $1 billion. 
The last film in the trilogy (Dark Knight Rises) became the 16th highest grossing film worldwide, a clear example of a transmedia product as its reception expanded due to its worldwide anticipation and previous achievement. Also following its success, the franchise has created soundtracks and various other merchandise such as The Dark Knight Video Game, posters, children’s toys and more, selling worldwide. It is clear that the Batman trilogy catered for the global market with its success in various outside of America, such as Australia, France, Germany, South Korea, England and Ireland, also making it a transcultural product. It is clear that this one small instalment within the DC Batman universe makes the entire Batman cooperation an extremely large transmedia product. The general synopsis of Batman seems to appeal to many diverse cultural audiences as it displays loss (loss of his parents), independence (Bruce building the Batman persona), an element of magic and heroism (Batman himself as a superhero) as well as romance. Its newer reboot (The Batman, played by Ben Affleck) has yet to release its own solo film, but introduces other anticipated characters such as Wonder Woman, which has already sparkled a larger audience attraction worldwide, both male and female.
