It is hard to keep a good convention down.

One year after Hollywood’s largest studios stayed away from Comic-Con International, they are back in force next week. The biggest of them all, Marvel Studios, will return to the 6,500-seat Hall H, as will HBO with its latest superhero show and dozens of other studios with star-studded casts.

Comic-Con’s lineup since the pandemic has been cyclical, with the biggest names staying away one year — and some blogs declaring the convention dead — and then a large push the next year.

Last year was marked by an era of Hollywood belt-tightening, after some gigantic box office duds and some production moving out of Los Angeles. There were still some big studio bombs this year, such as “Supergirl,” but the industry seems less likely to ignore a marketing opportunity this time around, said Heidi MacDonald, editor of the comic book news website The Beat.

She said large panels have proven they have the ability to cut through the noise of social media and other distractions to create excitement.

“Marketers realize Comic-Con is very popular. It’s going to get so much attention,” MacDonald said. “It’s one of the few ways to get a message out there that gets past one (X post) or one Instagram reel.”

There have been naysayers about the effectiveness of a Comic-Con panel. DC Studios co-chair James Gunn, who oversees Superman and Batman films, said last year on the New Rockstars YouTube channel that a large Comic-Con panel can cost millions of dollars and believed his own posts on Instagram promoting films can get the same reach media reach as a panel — and cost nothing.

MacDonald said media attention is one thing, but her publication constantly sees examples of how much fans appreciate in-person events, like Comic-Con, where they can have an experience.

“They want to be in the room,” she said. “They want to see the magic, they want to hear the roar of the crowd, they want to hear the ground shake.”

Hollywood’s fickle nature may mean little to attendees or advertisers. The event still sells out its more than 130,000 tickets almost instantly; studios drop thousands of dollars to wrap downtown buildings; and entertainment companies also pay big bucks to cover San Diego trolley cars in ads.

Even locals who bemoan increased traffic from Comic-Con see a benefit in the form of taxes that pay for everything from homeless programs to street repairs. Most estimates from the city and others put its economic impact at more than $160 million. That’s more than the San Diego Chargers brought to the region in its final year, and nearly 1% of San Diego County’s annual gross domestic product.

Carl Winston, founding director of the Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University, said some benefits are harder to track, such as news reports coming out of the convention — nationally and internationally — that promote the city, even if articles are mainly about an announcement of the latest comic book film.

“It’s a free commercial for San Diego, and it’s a hell of a commercial,” he said. “We are getting free marketing around the world.”

Winston likened the event to the Super Bowl, which takes place in different cities annually and is a showcase of whatever region they are in. But does San Diego, with some of the best weather and beaches, need to publicize? Winston compared the thinking to Pepsi, which everyone knows but still had a $5.4 billion advertising budget last fiscal year.

“You need to remind the market we’re here, we’re fun, there’s things to do,” he said.

Comic-Con is contracted to stay in America’s Finest City through 2027. In years when the contract is due to be renewed, the waiting period can get tense as fears that the convention will leave San Diego often surface when organizers demand new concessions from hoteliers and the city.

The nonprofit that runs the convention is on firmer financial footing this year. Comic-Con was hampered by the pandemic, going online-only for two years and had to take out a $2.5 million Payment Protection Plan federal loan to stay afloat. It has seen its fortunes change, its most recent tax filings show.

Comic-Con International earned $34 million in program service revenue in 2024, up from $31 million the previous year. Compare that to the online years of $4.7 million in 2021 and $980,000 in 2020. The nonprofit also earns money from a similar convention in Anaheim called WonderCon and the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park.

Big studios return, and bring the stars

The return of large Hollywood studios means more A-list celebrities in downtown San Diego, even if they are just shuttled around in a black Cadillac Escalade.

Marvel Studios does not announce which of its cast members will appear beforehand, but, if past panels are any indication, it tends to bring as many people as can fit on the Hall H stage. The cast of its upcoming December film, “Avengers: Doomsday,” could fill at least two San Diego city buses.

Some of the cast, very likely to show up, include Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Vanessa Kirby, Florence Pugh, Pedro Pascal, Chris Hemsworth, Channing Tatum, Patrick Stewart, David Harbour, Simi Liu, Awkwafina and Benedict Cumberbatch.

HBO is back but not with its “Game of Thrones” universe like usual. It will be featuring its upcoming “Lanterns” show, which follows characters from DC’s Green Lantern comic books. It stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre.

Another studio returning after a long absence is Apple TV. It made a huge Comic-Con push in 2022, taking over much of a downtown building to promote its show “Severance.” Then, the studio took the next few years off. It returns this year with several of its shows, including “Silo” and “Mayday,” an upcoming action comedy film starring Ryan Reynolds.

Apple TV has confirmed John Cena, Jessica Biel, Rebecca Ferguson and Jessica Henwick for its panels, but said it will announce others closer to the convention.

It’s not just your typical Hollywood casts ready to make a splash, but international ones, too. One of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Ranbir Kapoor, will be there to promote his latest Indian film, “Ramayana.” Also appearing is South Korean model and actress Jung Ho-yeon with her new thriller, “Hope.”

Winston, of San Diego State University, said international stars making news in San Diego can only be good for tourism, locally and throughout the U.S. He noted foreign visits to the U.S. dropped 5.5% last year, or a decline of 4 million fewer foreign visitors. Winston said all the positive news of international fans having a good time stateside for the World Cup may help slowly correct that, and, hopefully, Comic-Con can add to the momentum.

“If you’re a fan from Korea or India,” he said. “You’re going to see another commercial from America. And that can totally drive visitation in a time when we desperately need it.”

What to expect

Organizers of Comic-Con have argued for years that they don’t have enough space and could sell more tickets if the Convention Center were bigger. Yet a spillover effect means more and more events throughout downtown San Diego.

Badge holders will be getting their steps in with official events at nearby hotels — Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, Hilton San Diego Bayfront and Omni San Diego — and even the San Diego Central Library.

“I think it’s great. We talk a lot about how Comic-Con is more than just the four walls of the convention center,” said Daniel Kuperschmid, CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority. “It touches a lot of the city in a positive way.”

He said official events and other activities highlight San Diego as a fun and walkable city.

There will be dozens of things to do for people without badges during the convention, which runs July 23-26 with a preview night on July 22. There is a promotion for the Clash of Clans video game at Seaport Village; HBO is turning an event space on J Street into a simulated training headquarters based on its “Lanterns” show; and Nickelodeon will have an interactive stage (featuring “Paw Patrol” and others) at Children’s Museum Park off of Island Avenue, where participants can get covered in slime.

Apple’s activation for its “Silo” show could be the most immersive. The show is about thousands of humans living underground in a silo because the air is so toxic outside that they would die instantly. Apple said its installation, in a parking lot off of J Street, will be a “multi-sensory installation that transports visitors into the silo itself.”

There might still be a limited chance to get tickets, even if that goes against the rules. Comic-Con attendees aren’t supposed to sell badges, especially because the buyer’s name is clearly visible on badges, but that hasn’t stopped them from showing up on ticket websites. On Tuesday on Stubhub, single-day tickets for Saturday, July 25, Comic-Con’s biggest day, were going for $967. That’s a big hike from the $85-a-day ticket cost for most attendees.

Some hotel rooms are still available, but they have eye-watering prices at $850 and up per night. A few vacation rentals were going for $400 to $500 a night.

One last thing

Despite so many comic book creators coming to San Diego, its still rare for the city to end up on the printed page. That changes this year.

San Diego gets to shine in the world of fiction with two comic book companies debuting projects that feature the city: “Dread the Hall H,” by Image Comics, features zombies and other horror creatures in line for Hall H, while Godzilla in IDW’s “Godzilla vs. America: San Diego” trades Tokyo for San Diego in its path of destruction.

“Rising from the depths of San Diego Bay is the King of the Monsters,” the advertisement reads, “ready for its destructive photo op.”

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