Credit: Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Discovery is in trouble, as two of its biggest “blockbuster” releases have failed to meet expectations. What makes this matter worse is that four DC movies under the company’s banner reportedly cost a staggering $1.1 billion to promote and release, and one has failed miserably already—with the other close behind.
Related: ‘The Flash’ Opening Numbers Could Point to the Movie Being a Giant Flop
DC has been in limbo for quite some time, ever since Zack Snyder was building out his own SnyderVerse—which is all but over. Though the newly coined DCU is moving forward with James Gunn and Peter Safran running things, there have been some holdout films from the era of Snyder.
One of those films is the much-maligned Shazam! Fury of the Gods (Shazam 2) sequel, which became a massive bomb at the box office. Though the first film was widely accepted and appealed to a wide variety of fans, the second just seemingly missed the mark completely. It made a paltry $133 million at the worldwide box office, which all but pointed to people wanting the whole DCEU era to end.
However, that is not the case, as DC has two more films lined up that are holdouts from the previous James Gunn-ran era. The other has just rocketed into movie theaters, which is The Flash. Though it is still early on, the film has not impressed at the box office, making an embarrassing $55 million during its opening weekend. It currently sits at $135.7 million in worldwide box office numbers, which is incredibly low considering how big the promotions for the film were.
The current projections state that the Ezra Miller-led venture will only make somewhere in the $300 million range, leading to Warner Bros. losing a staggering $300 million on the picture, as that is where the reported budget also lies.
There are two more films that Warner Bros. can throw their hopes on, which are Blue Beetle and Aquaman 2. The issue is that whenever DC brings up one of its films, the continuity is always confusing. Even Gunn stated, “Blue Beetle is the first DCU character, but Superman: Legacy is the first DCU movie.”
So, does this mean that Blue Beetle will be recast in the future, or does his story not matter? If so, why even release a film that will confuse fans more?
Warner Bros. Blockbusters Cost $1.1 Billion to Promote and Produce
Related: ‘Blue Beetle’ Trailer Jump Starts New DCU With First Latinx Superhero
It has been reported that Warner Bros. will be spending $1.1 to 1.2 billion to produce and promote Shazam 2, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman 2.
That is a tremendous amount of money to place the studio’s faith in, and so far, that faith has been dashed against the proverbial rocks. As stated, Shazam 2 made an embarrassing $133 million at the worldwide box office. So far, The Flash has also come in far lower than expected, meaning it might make anything past its reported $300 million budget.
There is no telling how Blue Beetle and Aquaman 2 will fair, but it’s looking as though fans just want to see the new era of DC. We certainly want to see what James Gunn is set to provide this ailing superhero company, as the continuity of DC has been an issue for many years.
Granted, those issues might fall under Warner Bros. leadership, but either way—this is a huge problem.
DC Needs a Cohesive Plan
DC has faced many issues regarding how the company has flip-flopped between its creators and proverbial leaders. Zack Snyder was essentially running the show and creating a universe that wanted to mimic what Marvel had done. The issue was DC trying to play catch up to the MCU and bringing their version of the Avengers on too fast.
The problem is the Justice League (2017) happened so fast; it didn’t leave dedicated and casual fun much time to get to know the many characters as their own entities. We had to accept Cyborg, Aquaman, and The Flash.
Then things began to get far more strange when Snyder stepped away from Warner Bros., and Joss Whedon roared in, causing unwanted drama that the company did not need. Whedon’s beef with the cast made it seem like DC had no control over its creators or projects. Enter Snyder again.
Zack Snyder being allowed to release his Justice League (2021) cut was fine, but it added to the confusion about where DC was headed. Then there was also Suicide Squad (2016), directed by David Ayer, and The Suicide Squad (2021), directed by James Gunn. Again, fans were overtly happy about Gunn’s film over Ayer’s, but it added another confusing aspect to what DC was doing behind the scenes.
James Gunn is officially set to reset the DC Universe as the DCU. The problem is that most fans are tired of paying attention to another reset and figuring out which characters are canon or not and which storylines will make it into future films and shows. Hopefully, this new reset will finally add a cohesive plan to DC, allowing for years of intertwining stories that make sense.
Related: DCU Will Set Itself Apart From MCU, Says James Gunn
Warner Bros. is losing $1.1 billion because it constantly allows DC to make questionable moves with its releases. Though we hope DC doesn’t have a stranglehold on it by corporate higher-ups, the stories produced must be far more engaging.
Do you think DC can recoup $1.1 billion? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!