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

[HummingLemon496]

1 minute ago, WorkingonaName said:

The DCU will fail, Should have just gone on in on Batman/Joker style films. 

Congratulations, every word of what you just said. . .was true 😄

[El Squibbonator]

Never say never. I think you underestimate the enthusiasm people might have for a good Superman movie now that it's been over a decade since Man of Steel.

 

The decision to hand Fixed back to Sony, meanwhile, has me wondering about other movies that Warner Bros. is currently distributing but not producing. For example, a couple years ago they signed a distribution deal with Locksmith Animation, a British animation company whose first movie, Ron's Gone Wrong, was distributed by Disney. But Locksmith may be backing out of that deal, since their upcoming movie That Christmas is going to Netflix instead of Warner Bros.

 

Does this mean other studios no longer trust Warner Bros. as a distributor, and are trying to back out of distribution deals with them if at all possible?

[ZattMurdock]

8 minutes ago, El Squibbonator said:

Never say never. I think you underestimate the enthusiasm people might have for a good Superman movie now that it's been over a decade since Man of Steel.

 

The decision to hand Fixed back to Sony, meanwhile, has me wondering about other movies that Warner Bros. is currently distributing but not producing. For example, a couple years ago they signed a distribution deal with Locksmith Animation, a British animation company whose first movie, Ron's Gone Wrong, was distributed by Disney. But Locksmith may be backing out of that deal, since their upcoming movie That Christmas is going to Netflix instead of Warner Bros.

 

Does this mean other studios no longer trust Warner Bros. as a distributor, and are trying to back out of distribution deals with them if at all possible?

I don’t think that the DCU or Superman will fail. It might never reach the MCU heights, but my point and I stand by it that it’s unfair and impossible to expect the DCU to save WBD. You can’t save something that clearly isn’t structured or aiming to be saved. Every single step since Zaslav took over telegraphs what he is doing and what his mission is, and it isn’t to make WBD to succeed. Not because they don’t like money, but because WBD is too big and with too much debt to keep going like this. 
 

The DCU might be very successful and still be sold. Hell, Marvel Entertainment was incredibly successful and starting their cinematic universe when they got sold to Disney. I wouldn’t be surprised if DC Entertainment / Studios / Comics follow suit.

 

What I think it’s feasible to get regulators approval: selling WBD for parts. Zaslav keeps Max and Discovery, CNN goes to a different company, WB to a different company. Question: would DC go along with WB? My theory is that keeping WB and DC together might be something it’s impossible to keep for suitable buyers. I don’t see how Disney would get approval to buy WB, even less so NBC Universal. Selling for parts, though? That makes it feasible and something I imagine regulators would welcome.

[El Squibbonator]

14 minutes ago, ZattMurdock said:

Every single step since Zaslav took over telegraphs what he is doing and what his mission is, and it isn’t to make WBD to succeed. What I think it’s feasible to get regulators approval: selling WBD for parts. Zaslav keeps Max and Discovery, CNN goes to a different company, WB to a different company. Question: would DC go along with WB? My theory is that keeping WB and DC together might be something it’s impossible to keep for suitable buyers.

 

I suppose that's possible, but we've also seen some indications that he doesn't want to split up the whole company.

 

 Here's an article that goes into more detail about Zaslav's plans. Allegedly, one possibility they're looking at to avoid the "nuclear option" of breaking up the company is selling off WB Games, the company's video game division. Selling off peripheral subsidiaries like this, while keeping the core of the company-- that is, the movie, streaming, and TV studios and their related IP-- intact would keep Warner Bros. afloat, albeit at a considerable cost. Polish broadcaster TVN is another asset Warner Bros is considering selling.

[ZattMurdock]

3 minutes ago, El Squibbonator said:

 

I suppose that's possible, but we've also seen some indications that he doesn't want to split up the whole company.

 

 Here's an article that goes into more detail about Zaslav's plans. Allegedly, one possibility they're looking at to avoid the "nuclear option" of breaking up the company is selling off WB Games, the company's video game division. Selling off peripheral subsidiaries like this, while keeping the core of the company-- that is, the movie, streaming, and TV studios and their related IP-- intact would keep Warner Bros. afloat, albeit at a considerable cost. Polish broadcaster TVN is another asset Warner Bros is considering selling.

I don’t believe him. I don’t believe him because action speaks louder than words, what he is saying doesn’t make sense with what has been doing since the start. WB will not be with D for long.

[El Squibbonator]

Who are you going to believe, then? Your own gut feeling, or someone who was actually there?

[Warmaster506]

Zaslav will throw a fit if Superman is not an 15/10 film and doesn't make 3 billion.

[Human]

14 minutes ago, Warmaster506 said:

Zaslav will throw a fit if Superman is not an 15/10 film and doesn't make 3 billion.

Then if my sub 400M worldwide prediction comes true what does he do?  Murder Gunn?

[WittyUsername]

I wouldn’t expect James Gunn’s Superman to outgross The Batman, but even assuming it becomes a billion dollar hit, I can’t imagine that’ll be enough to solve WBD’s financial problems. 

[Warmaster506]

1 hour ago, Human said:

Then if my sub 400M worldwide prediction comes true what does he do?  Murder Gunn?

Gunn is probably in the hot seat

[El Squibbonator]

I never said Superman on its own would be enough to save the company. But the fact is, Warner Bros does have a number of potentially major blockbusters. We know there are more Dune movies being made, and there's presumably going to be a Barbie sequel too. As far as animated movies go, they're working on The Cat in the Hat with Bill Hader, which was announced earlier this year for a 2026 release.

[emoviefan]

1 hour ago, Human said:

Then if my sub 400M worldwide prediction comes true what does he do?  Murder Gunn?

Well Gunn is safe since it's not doing under 400m WW.  Getting tired of the assumption that without having seen a trailer or any official footage so many already think this will bomb because the GA is sick of this stuff and will not be able to seperate the movie from the Snyderverse or something. 

[filmnerdjamie]

Disney had one of their absolute worst performances last year. Everything either bombed or under-performed, save for Guardians Vol. III.

 

This year... they're back on top. Just the way it goes and the same will apply for WBD.

 

Let's not forget Dune Part II and Kong x Godzilla were both big wins this spring. So this is nowhere near as bad as Disney last year, and they have more coming.

 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is going to be a big win next month. Even with the recent headlines with Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: Folie à Deux will also be a big win. While I acknowledge he's an unprofessional dick for leaving that production high and dry like that, let's not kid ourselves. The general public doesn't care.

 

Next year, I see at least three big wins for them - Minecraft, Sinners (the rumored title of the Coogler/Jordan vampire film) and Superman. Plus F1 which I suspect will be a surprise performer after that exceptional trailer.

[cannastop]

Just now, filmnerdjamie said:

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is going to be a big win next month. Even with the recent headlines with Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: Folie à Deux will also be a big win. While I acknowledge he's an unprofessional dick for leaving that production high and dry like that, let's not kid ourselves. The general public doesn't care.

I don't think anyone thought that what Phoenix did was going to affect Joker 2. They just think he'll have strained relationships with the rest of hollywood going forward.

[filmnerdjamie]

2 minutes ago, cannastop said:

I don't think anyone thought that what Phoenix did was going to affect Joker 2. They just think he'll have strained relationships with the rest of hollywood going forward.

 

It should effect him. But sadly it won't.

 

Not unless Joker 2 under-performs. Then it'll become a snowball effect against him.

[Jonwo]

5 hours ago, filmnerdjamie said:

Disney had one of their absolute worst performances last year. Everything either bombed or under-performed, save for Guardians Vol. III.

 

This year... they're back on top. Just the way it goes and the same will apply for WBD.

 

Let's not forget Dune Part II and Kong x Godzilla were both big wins this spring. So this is nowhere near as bad as Disney last year, and they have more coming.

 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is going to be a big win next month. Even with the recent headlines with Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: Folie à Deux will also be a big win. While I acknowledge he's an unprofessional dick for leaving that production high and dry like that, let's not kid ourselves. The general public doesn't care.

 

Next year, I see at least three big wins for them - Minecraft, Sinners (the rumored title of the Coogler/Jordan vampire film) and Superman. Plus F1 which I suspect will be a surprise performer after that exceptional trailer.

Every studio has its good years and bad years. I do think WBD's problems are the fact it has a lot and I mean a lot of legacy linear networks and cable is basically on its way out in favour of streaming. Disney in comparison doesn't have as many legacy cable networks and some like Lifetime and A&E are joint ventures. Disney also can rely on the live experiences division like the theme parks and cruise lines. 

 

 

[thajdikt]

The DCU will be a massive success. 

[ZeroHour]

51 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

Every studio has its good years and bad years. I do think WBD's problems are the fact it has a lot and I mean a lot of legacy linear networks and cable is basically on its way out in favour of streaming. Disney in comparison doesn't have as many legacy cable networks and some like Lifetime and A&E are joint ventures. Disney also can rely on the live experiences division like the theme parks and cruise lines. 

 

 

Yeah this is the thing. The movie division isn’t going to save or sink WBD. WBD’s problem is that the cable bundle is dying and that’s where most of their money comes from. Other companies like Disney and Comcast are diversified but WBD and Paramount are not. I don’t think people here realize what a giant cash cow the cable bundle was for the studios. 

[Human]

The DCU will be a failure. Zaslav does not have the patience to make it work.

[El Squibbonator]

The problem with simply jettisoning the cable bundle is that so much of the IP associated with the cable networks is too tightly integrated into WB as a whole. Suppose they did sell off the cable networks; the shows on those networks would still be owned by WB, which would make licensing them out awkward to say the least. What would Adult Swim do without Rick and Morty, or HBO without Game of Thrones?

 

 

Edited August 11 by El Squibbonator