Marvel Studios will Go Head to Head with Batman vs. Superman

[Rock Sexton]

Yeah this isn't happening.Someone's gonna move(Probably Batman vs Superman),and business will go on as usual.Though I would love to see the intense fanboy collapse this will cause.There would be fights at the theater over what movie was better.It would be like gang territory.

Except there'd be some of the worst slap boxing and gratuitous "I'm telling my mom" you've ever seen.

Fanboys don't physically fight. That's why they created internet forums.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

April 2016 is wide open.

Cap 3 could easily slip back a few weeks and break April records.

 

[:eek:]

I'm sure one of the movies will move. Two big superhero-movies the same weekend? I just can't see that happen. Add to that the fact that summer 2016 at the moment looks like superhero-overkill with three movies scheduled for May. Amazing Spider-Man 3 in June and another Marvel-movie in July.

 

[mclay18]

One or both will move dates, it's over two years away and neither has even started shooting yet.

BvS starts shooting in a few weeks. CA3 is still in writing stages, as much as Marvel fanboys like to say otherwise. BvS will enter post-production by the time CA3 starts shooting -- which is late this year or early 2015 at the earliest.

Someone will move. There is too much money on the table that direct competition will cost both parties. The question is who will blink first (it isn't for two years, people!).

I think if Winter Soldier can cross a billion worldwide despite having "Captain America" in its title and Guardians doesn't flop, it will be WB. If either of the two happens, I suspect Marvel will move to April.

That's possible. However, a lot of people conveniently forget that Sony booked May 2, 2014 for Amazing Spider-Man 2 during shooting of the first reboot, and Marvel originally scheduled CA2 to May 16. So after Comic-Con's announcement of CA2, they bumped it up to April 4th to beat Sony to the punch.

That move was reactionary, much like WB and MS' recent scheduling changes of late. The latter moved Ant-Man to the mid-July spot BvS was originally scheduled for, and WB moved BvS to May 6, 2016.

I actually think WB has more to gain by moving BvS to early April, since they'll practically be finished at that point. And they won't have to worry about X-Men: Apocalypse getting in the way either at the end of the month.

 

[Simo]

I'd imagine one would move just because of the theater owners alone. How would decide and allocate screens for each movie, 2D, 3D and IMAX?

 

[godisawesome]

Part of me wants to see this just to see both teams fans commit to a competition and to finally and completely crush James Cameron's stranglehold on commercially succefull movies with two films at the same time.

I just don't see Batman vs Superman crashing at all; I think a lot of the hype backlash against Man of Steel is hogwash, and Batman remains one of the gold standards for superhero movies, period.

Having a good Marvel movie open in the same weekend would also allow my social studies training to kick into high gear; the advertisement war would be immense, and as I've said, there's a strong potential for enormous windfall from both films because of each other: I'm one of the guys who saw TDKR and MOS three times in theaters, and I saw Avengers twice and both Thors twice as well (I prefer the acting and character development between Hemsworth and Hiddleston to Iron Man's formulaic nature). Imagine someone like me picking one of the films as my favorite and wanting to see it crush the other. Then find my opposite number.

Then see what happens when both movie fanbases mobilize.

I am largely a DC guy, and a major MOS guy. But I'd love for comic movies to continue to refine their structures and natures. MOS and the TDK trilogy had a greater ambition than the Marvel films in terms of portraying the characters and consequences of their actions, but Marvel has learned how to execute their properties consistently. Imagine what we'll get if they mix the two style together.

 

[PalmerTheThing]

I think BVS should move it back a week or two. Just to gain a couple of extra bucks.

I physically just cannot see BVS and Capt.3 going aganist each other on the same day. It's like....no, just not going to happen.

 

[Drizzle]

Everyone: "To challenge Batman vs. Superman is to court death."

Marvel:

 

[redhawk23]

God, the whole Bvs acronym, particularly when people type it up as BVS is throwing me the hell off because for the previous 15 years of interwebz history "BVS" referred to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 

[Lord]

No, that would be BtVS

 

[DarthSkywalker]

No, that would be BtVS

That is what I thought as well.

 

[Daywalker89]

I think BVS should move it back a week or two. Just to gain a couple of extra bucks.

I physically just cannot see BVS and Capt.3 going aganist each other on the same day. It's like....no, just not going to happen.

I agree, it's absurd for this to be planned,. All this punch and counter punch from D.C and marvel is quite petulant. I don't know which direction this crap is going to go. I experienced the weird period of when ASM and TDKR were in a few weeks of each othe and we all know who took a hit from that.

 

[DA_Champion]

I agree, it's absurd for this to be planned,. All this punch and counter punch from D.C and marvel is quite petulant. I don't know which direction this crap is going to go. I experienced the weird period of when ASM and TDKR were in a few weeks of each othe and we all know who took a hit from that.

Who?

 

[Warhammer]

One studio (who is anyone's guess) will move. Both studios are merely measuring dick sizes with this news. However, we all know that two tentpole superhero films released on the same weekend is a disaster for both. Both films will suffer from a loss of revenue. There is no counter-programming that occurs here.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Who?

I would say neither. Sure Batman 'won', but that probably had more to do with Sony's ill-advised decision to retell the origin than ASM's release date.

Plus, TDKR was just generally regarded as being a much better film.

 

[Lord]

I think that ASM lost also because it had the stygma of being a reboot to one of last decade's most popular and recognizable franchises. Each Spider-Man film was like an event, i can see how many were turned off once SONY clicked the reboot button

 

[Hyde]

Once the smoke clears in a few weeks and the dick-measuring contest between WB and Marvel is over, one of them will budge. May 2016 is a whole two years away, and by that time plenty of release dates will have shifted around. IMO, WB shouldn't have moved to May 6 in the first place because it's practically asking for a fight.

Marvel's July movie is all-but-confirmed to be Doctor Strange, which I think would benefit from a fall release. Captain America 3 would do better being released on July 4 or sometime that month leaving WB and Fox to fight it out in May.

 

[PalmerTheThing]

I think that ASM lost also because it had the stygma of being a reboot to one of last decade's most popular and recognizable franchises. Each Spider-Man film was like an event, i can see how many were turned off once SONY clicked the reboot button

I get what your saying about the "event" thing. ASM in my eyes was an event because I admire every Spidey film that comes out (until I saw SM3 that is), and ASM felt the less eventful of all the films.

Now A LOT of people at work and such are going cray cray over ASM2 so this one could be the film that goes back to an event status, as it already feels so.

Probably due to it being the biggest name in comic movies this year.

I just REAAALLLLLLy, want to see what the BVS numbers will look like in 2016 though. It could make or break DC.

 

[mclay18]

April 2016 is wide open.

Cap 3 could easily slip back a few weeks and break April records.

No, I think WB should move BvS to April. Everyone benefits because the movies are spread out, and they're not cutting into each other a la the May Threequel clash in 2007 (SM-3, POTC 3 and Shrek 3) or the Blockbuster Pileup from last year.

WB has been doing reactive moves lately. It would not surprise me should CA:TWS have a massive opener that weekend, they move BvS to that same weekend for 2016.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I'd be very surprised if BvS doesn't at least clear a billion at the worldwide box office. I have little doubts of that.

I'm far more concerned over whether I'll enjoy it. There's so many people that I don't care for involved in the production of this film that I have a really bad feeling about it. I really hope I'm wrong.

 

[Heretic]

I'm all in for Cap 3. Batman vs Superman is a Netflix rental for me. They aren't getting any more of my money. If Cap 2 is as great as people are suggesting...and they load up Cap 3 with other heroes the way Cap 2 is, then...well...it still won't beat BvS...but maybe it can put a serious dent in its box office. If Cap 3 is a disappointment at the box office, Marvel will shrug it off. If BvS is a disappointment, WB will shelve the franchise...maybe give us yet another Batman reboot so we can see Harvey Dent become Two Face again.

 

[metaphysician]

I'd be very surprised if BvS doesn't at least clear a billion at the worldwide box office. I have little doubts of that.

I'm far more concerned over whether I'll enjoy it. There's so many people that I don't care for involved in the production of this film that I have a really bad feeling about it. I really hope I'm wrong.

You may be confident, but I'm not. Yeah, the Nolan Batman movies did that well, but I am not even close to sure that will carry over. . . especially since the reaction to the latest ( and relevant ) incarnation of Superman was deeply mixed.

 

[DACrowe]

I'd be very surprised if BvS doesn't at least clear a billion at the worldwide box office. I have little doubts of that.

I'm far more concerned over whether I'll enjoy it. There's so many people that I don't care for involved in the production of this film that I have a really bad feeling about it. I really hope I'm wrong.

Well said. I could see it being like Spider-Man 3, actually. A huge, huge opening--SM3 would be close to $200 million in its opening weekend today with inflation and if it had the surcharges of 3D and 3D IMAX to enjoy--followed by a steep drop.

But who knows. Maybe they will make it work? But after Man of Steel, what remains for me is more a mild curiosity in seeing if it can work than hype. With that said, unless Disney throws the table over and puts Star Wars down, I do not see WB moving. This movie is going to simply be too big for its first few weeks.

 

[mclay18]

I'd imagine one would move just because of the theater owners alone. How would decide and allocate screens for each movie, 2D, 3D and IMAX?

For IMAX, it's contingent on the agreement the studios sign (usually it's first come first serve) -- and how long those screens belong to that movie. When WB moved Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November 21, 2008 to July 15, 2009, IMAX couldn't play the movie until July 31st because of Paramount's exclusive agreement for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Yet if a movie is scorchingly popular and demand is high for the premium format... sometimes IMAX will split the showtimes between two movies. IMAX was legally obligated to show Dark Shadows day-and-date with regular theaters per WB's agreement, but due to The Avengers' popularity -- DS's showtimes were halved to accommodate the demand for the latter. So if WB is the first to make a deal with IMAX for a DMR version of BvS on May 6, Disney will have a harder time getting those screens for the same weekend. (Or several consecutive ones.)

I also remember reading a DHD article by Nikki Finke saying that Paramount also had a hold on certain 3D screens for Transformers 3, which conveniently ended right when Captain America hit theaters... so they kept the hold on the 3D screens for another movie they distributed.

So if WB and Disney stay put, it will be a scheduling headache for theater exhibitors -- IMAX and multiplexes alike. Moving either film up a week or more will greatly alleviate that aggravation and satisfy seat demand.

 

[mclay18]

I'm all in for Cap 3. Batman vs Superman is a Netflix rental for me. They aren't getting any more of my money.

So you're basically dismissing this film before they even have a trailer ready, let alone filming. Wonderful.