So the good folks over at HitFix posted a story about the people at DC Films/Warner Brothers being worried about how Batman v Superman is going to do, and what they are going to do if it fails. My response? Of course they are! This film cost well over $200 Million to make plus marketing, so it probably needs to make at least $1 Billion worldwide to see a profit, but there is more at stake than that. If this movie is successful there will be a multitude of other films to follow it up, but if it fails then what? They will have to cancel or move dozens of tent-pole films around, all costing well over $100 Million each. It would be a massive loss to the studio and no number of new Harry Potterverse films will fill that void.
If I was an investor in Warner Brothers I would be worried too, and I would be upset if the people running the studios weren’t planning for the worst. This movie will either be a major win or a massive loss. There isn’t a lot of in between for them. For the record, I am hoping this movie is going to be great. I will be there Thursday night ready to see DC’s big three on screen for the first time. Even if the movie is bad it will be an event worth seeing! Maybe I will see you there. For all you Warner Brothers executives, do what you can to stay calm, maybe take up yoga, it is going to be a rough month for you guys.