Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice must be kind of a mixed bag for studio Warner Bros. It had a recording breaking opening for DC movies and it was the studio’s second biggest debut, but then it had the biggest recorded drop from its opening weekend by 69 percent. The movie might not even make a billion dollars, but Warner Bros. doesn’t seem worried. They’ve readjusted their schedule to include two new untitled DC films, ensuring that they are still moving forward with the DCEU. Despite this show of faith, Warner must be kicking themselves, because a new report has come in stating that Batman v Superman may not even be as profitable as it’s predecessor, Man of Steel.
This report comes from Bloomberg, who claim that while the film is mostly a success, it failed to reach the highs that Warner Bros. was expecting:
Batman v Superman, one of the most expensive films ever made, is on pace to produce a $278 million profit for Warner Bros. once home video, TV and merchandise proceeds are tallied, according to SNL Kagan analyst Wade Holden. That’s less than the estimated $300 million the studio earned from Man Of Steel.
That’s…not good news. Batman v Superman was supposed to be a huge blockbuster event film and it isn’t more profitable than Man of Steel, a somewhat mediocre film with just Superman? Batman and Superman are the two most popular comic book characters and this was the first time they were on screen together. There are people who waited their whole lives to see something like this. This movie should have made much more money, but it seems to be crawling to its goal rather than sprinting.
This could be taken a few ways by Warner Bros. For one thing, it hopefully teaches them that they have try and make a quality film with legs, instead of banking on the name recognition to get people to the theater. The dark, humorless tone of the DCEU is working against them, and it’s keeping a general audience from wanting to see it twice. The studio seems to be taking this lesson as a sign to change the tonal direction of the DC slate. There have been a lot of reports and interviews that make it clear that future DC films will be "fun." James Wan, the director of the upcoming Aquaman film, hammered home in an interview that his version of the character would be more humorous. Likewise, there have been similar claims that Justice League Part One will be less serious than BVS, and more of an epic action film.
I think it’s a good thing that Warner isn’t pulling back on DC. The problem isn’t the quantity of movies, but the quality. It seems like they’re re-evaluating their approach so hopefully we’ll be seeing the DC films we both need and deserve.
What do you think about Batman V Superman and its performance? Are you getting worried for Justice League? Sound off in the comments below.
