The Warner Bros. Thread | Will NOT merge with Paramount...capitalism is still terrible

[cax16]

No idea what will come from this but this was WB statement tonight on the situation.

 

It seems like Ray wants John’s and Hamada gone but if he doesn’t have a contract with WB anymore then I’m not sure what their motivation would be to do anything else. 

 

[WittyUsername]

All this drama when it comes to these DC movies is precisely why I often find myself wishing WB would just scrap everything to do with the DCEU, as it’s called. The only thing that really keeps me on the fence about it is that I’d like to see Henry Cavill play Superman again, but I don’t want it to just be a cameo in the Flash movie. 

[jimisawesome]

15 hours ago, RRA said:

I feel dumb. Why would AT&T sell off WarnerMedia? Are they really hurting that badly? 

 

AT&T is not selling or spinning off or partnering or any other nonsense these this small shop is fantasy M&A*ing about. 

 

AT&T in the last quarterly report beat street expectations significantly, they are profitable, they can more then easily manage their debt service and still have investment grade debt ratings.   AT&T has other things they will unload first such as DirecTV in any cash crunch or even divisions at Warners such as games. 

 

From the Comcast/Universal side Comcast could not be happier with Universal. As an example when they bought them from GE there was talk at first of selling off the parks but instead Comcast has invested heavily into the parks. 

 

Both have a good lineup of IP.  Both have gotten window concessions from theater chains.  They don't have to combine to take on Disney, there is no extra prize for beating disney.  Disney paid near a 100 billion dollars to get that 40 percent market share.  WB and/or Universal can be perfectly profitable at their 20-30% range.  Neither studio close to being the likely next studio bought out that would easily be MGM, Lionsgate, and Paramount.  Sony would also likely be on the market before either Uni or WB.   2 of these studios are on the market as it is with MGM and Lionsgate.  

 

*M&A is mergers and acquisitions the catch all term for well mergers, acquisitions, spin offs and other similar Investment Banking type corporate moves.  

[RRA]

55 minutes ago, WittyUsername said:

All this drama when it comes to these DC movies is precisely why I often find myself wishing WB would just scrap everything to do with the DCEU, as it’s called. The only thing that really keeps me on the fence about it is that I’d like to see Henry Cavill play Superman again, but I don’t want it to just be a cameo in the Flash movie. 

A perennial problem with them (apparently regardless who is in power) is that too much drama is about off-screen shenanigans and not in the movies in themselves. 

 

48 minutes ago, jimisawesome said:

 

AT&T is not selling or spinning off or partnering or any other nonsense these this small shop is fantasy M&A*ing about. 

 

 

That's my gut feeling too. That's why I was asking why some folks think that's plausible. 

[RRA]

1 hour ago, cax16 said:

No idea what will come from this but this was WB statement tonight on the situation.

 

It seems like Ray wants John’s and Hamada gone but if he doesn’t have a contract with WB anymore then I’m not sure what their motivation would be to do anything else. 

 

I'm sure the Snyder faithful are just thrilled by Johns sticking around /s

[Gavin Feng]

4 hours ago, cax16 said:

No idea what will come from this but this was WB statement tonight on the situation.

 

It seems like Ray wants John’s and Hamada gone but if he doesn’t have a contract with WB anymore then I’m not sure what their motivation would be to do anything else. 

 

 

Once a industry person told me anything around celebrities in public is always caused by fame or wealth. We probably never know the detail about this, but it's far to speculate Ray Fisher believe everything he did somehow is going to help his career or deflect those executives' job(I personally think the former is more likely. The latter usually couldn't last too long). 

 

 

[Eric Duncan]

 

[WittyUsername]

Is Denis Villeneuve even in a position to make demands about something like this? He’s a great director, but his track record at the box office isn’t exactly spectacular. 

[lorddemaxus]

Really hope this pushes Matrix 4 to go full theatrical. I just want Matrix 4 to just have a normal boxoffice run at this point lol. 

[cax16]

6 minutes ago, WittyUsername said:

Is Denis Villeneuve even in a position to make demands about something like this? He’s a great director, but his track record at the box office isn’t exactly spectacular. 

Well if they wanna keep him happy and continue working with him it’s probably best to work out a deal. He’s supposed to be working with them for some HBOMAX stuff as well. 

[Legion Again]

Once BW opens above 100M, it will be obvious that Dune and M4 don’t need to be 0-day MAX  

[Legion Again]

1 minute ago, WandaLegion said:

Once BW opens above 100M, it will be obvious that Dune and M4 don’t need to be 0-day MAX  

Less clickbaity version of this post:  

Both of these movies are pretty far away. Their release plans will be affected by a lot of factors beyond negotiations and director preference that are currently unknown and unknowable, most prominently the course of the virus and BO resurgence.

Edited January 8, 2021 by WandaLegion

[WittyUsername]

Matrix 4 is the only film in WB’s 2021 slate that ever showed any promise, but I’m not expecting them to budge on that one. 

[Gavin Feng]

1 hour ago, Eric Gardner said:

 

 

 

Legendary: Could we return to exclusive theatrical release?

 

WB: Of course.

 

Legendary: That's it? You just agreed?

 

WB: Why?

 

Legendary: I thought you really wanted to hype your streaming service with all these dramas.

 

WB: You're big wrong. We hype dramas by our precious HBO Max. See, so many headlines we've made in recent days.

 

Legendary: Ohh! Then let's do these stuff again.

[jimisawesome]

5 hours ago, Eric Gardner said:

 

If WB did anything but offer to move the movie up to an early Feb opening they gave Legendary too much since Legendary is just that determined to have a theatrical opening.  They can offer the same on Dune also.

Edited January 9, 2021 by jimisawesome

[BeastByTheBay]

Looks like everyone is getting Patty Jenks/Gal mula

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-09/warner-bros-guarantees-filmmakers-a-payday-for-hbo-max-movies

[lilmac]

On 1/8/2021 at 5:46 PM, Gavin Feng said:

 

 

Legendary: Could we return to exclusive theatrical release?

 

WB: Of course.

 

Legendary: That's it? You just agreed?

 

WB: Why?

 

Legendary: I thought you really wanted to hype your streaming service with all these dramas.

 

WB: You're big wrong. We hype dramas by our precious HBO Max. See, so many headlines we've made in recent days.

 

Legendary: Ohh! Then let's do these stuff again.

I’m sure Lionsgate was given a larger cut of the global boxoffice share it would have had to share with WB. 

[Macleod]

On 1/8/2021 at 4:33 PM, WittyUsername said:

Is Denis Villeneuve even in a position to make demands about something like this? He’s a great director, but his track record at the box office isn’t exactly spectacular. 

It's not just about what he can "demand" -- though agents can help with that -- it's about contract stipulations and indeed "precedent" -- what Warners is doing here vs. the rest of the industry right now.  

[Macleod]

On 1/8/2021 at 4:37 PM, lorddemaxus said:

Really hope this pushes Matrix 4 to go full theatrical. I just want Matrix 4 to just have a normal boxoffice run at this point lol. 

Like I keep reminding people -- the trades all mentioned Matrix 4 in reports of the year-long release plan -- but it's nowhere to be seen on HBOMax's 2021 "slate" on their page, and of course the film was originally slated for 2022...I think it will move back there.  

[DlAMONDZ]

What kind of blackmail did Denis employ in order to get Legendary suits to give him money after the disaster that was BR49?

Edited January 11, 2021 by DlAMONDZ