DC Films The DC Studios News and Discussion Thread

[J.Drangal]

You're obviously not on the same page when it comes to your feelings on this (very vague) rumour, and I don't think there's much to debate at the moment anyway...
Perhaps this exchange should end like your avatar @dhandler01 ...

 

[dhandler01]

They usually do on the internet

 

[Sawyer]

I’m sensing that he meant that as some sort of flex, but honestly, Gunn should probably send him an Edible Arrangement and a thank you note for distancing Joker from what he and his team are putting together.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

With the way the box office is looking, I don't think they will continue to let Todd do his thing.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Gosh another DC bomb, they really need to rethink their slate and the films being greenlit. Not sure how much potential this has, along with Authority and Dynamic Duo. It’s going to be an uphill battle for DC.

 

[Sawyer]

Saying they need to rethink their slate when we haven’t even gotten to the slate that Gunn has put together feels a bit like concern trolling IMO.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I’m sensing that he meant that as some sort of flex, but honestly, Gunn should probably send him an Edible Arrangement and a thank you note for distancing Joker from what he and his team are putting together.

And Gunn is extremely happy about this, I'm sure.

 

[dhandler01]

Saying they need to rethink their slate when we haven’t even gotten to the slate that Gunn has put together feels a bit like concern trolling IMO.

Seriously.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Concern trolling lol that’s a new one. I WANT DC TO SUCCEED, why would I spend so much time here if I didn’t? The usual suspects get so bent out of shape when negative comments are made and genuine concerns are brought up. Discussion is about differing viewpoints but some people want blind acceptance and optimism, and that’s never going to be me.

Acting like DC studios slate isn’t going to be affected by the general negative reception to previous non DCU projects is way too optimistic. Yes this is a new universe but DC doesn’t exist in a vacuum and audiences will have a hard time forgetting being burned over and over and over and over..

Joker failing hurts DC in general and they need to think very carefully about the movies they make. I don’t want the DCU to fail, I’m tired of DC being second best. But there’s a very great chance Gunn’s attempt is going to fail miserably. WB is the most reactionary studio out there, we’ve seen what happens when they panic. I think it’s a good idea to be conservative with the slate. Things like Bane/Deathstroke, Dynamic Duo and The Authority seem risky. It’s not my money so I don’t really care but I just hope WB is smart with the slate so we can get as many movies as possible.

We’ll see when Superman releases. If that isn’t a smash hit, they’re gonna pivot like they always do. I hope that isn’t the case and the movie finally establishes a modern Superman that audiences actually like.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Saying they need to rethink their slate when we haven’t even gotten to the slate that Gunn has put together feels a bit like concern trolling IMO.

Yeah, I'm one of the more openly cynical people here about the DCU but I don't think this says anything about their prospects. They'll have their own issues to overcome largely unrelated to what this movie had.

I do think this movie bombing is terrible for the genre though. Regardless of quality a big, creator driven swing that doesn't particularly give a **** about the IP bombing isn't great for the prospects of interesting and diverse CBMs not tied to a shared universe.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Concern trolling lol that’s a new one. I WANT DC TO SUCCEED, why would I spend so much time here if I didn’t? The usual suspects get so bent out of shape when negative comments are made and genuine concerns are brought up. Discussion is about differing viewpoints but some people want blind acceptance and optimism, and that’s never going to be me.

Acting like DC studios slate isn’t going to be affected by the general negative reception to previous non DCU projects is way too optimistic. Yes this is a new universe but DC doesn’t exist in a vacuum and audiences will have a hard time forgetting being burned over and over and over and over..

Joker failing hurts DC in general and they need to think very carefully about the movies they make. I don’t want the DCU to fail, I’m tired of DC being second best. But there’s a very great chance Gunn’s attempt is going to fail miserably. WB is the most reactionary studio out there, we’ve seen what happens when they panic. I think it’s a good idea to be conservative with the slate. Things like Bane/Deathstroke, Dynamic Duo and The Authority seem risky. It’s not my money so I don’t really care but I just hope WB is smart with the slate so we can get as many movies as possible.

We’ll see when Superman releases. If that isn’t a smash hit, they’re gonna pivot like they always do. I hope that isn’t the case and the movie finally establishes a modern Superman that audiences actually like.

I agree in that I truly don't think audiences will see Superman as any different from the DCEU movies that came before it. Quality and word of mouth will make up for a lot, but obviously its a huge up hill battle for them.

I disagree in that because I have no particular investment in whether DC succeeds or fails (and actively don't want a shared universe) what I like about the slate is that there's so many random, neat characters being utilized that a more conservative effort at a shared universe probably wouldn't make. I'd be more than happy to just get a few neat B List characters in good movies before the universe flames out. Could absolutely not care less about a slate of movies that was just the big names leading up to a JL crossover - this, for all my issues with it, sounds more fun to me.

 

[flickchick85]

I just think it’s worth keeping in mind that the reason there are A-Listers in the mix alongside more obscure titles is because they are almost certainly different-sized projects. The goal here is to produce blockbusters and midsized sleeper projects alike. So the Swamp Thing movie will not cost as much as Superman, for example, nor would, say, Clayface or Plastic Man, and will therefore not need to make nearly as much money to be seen as a success. That’s why I continue to push back against the “they’re just trying to copy the MCU” claims, because the MCU was pretty much consistent budget-wise (beyond just gradually growing) across their slate - each movie being roughly the same “size,” from Iron Man to Cap to Guardians, with the Avengers flicks being a little bigger - and I get the impression from this slate they are very much NOT taking that approach here at all. There are small projects here, and there are big projects, and probably some in between. Degrees of box office returns are intended to vary dramatically imo. Obviously, Superman is a big one, so hopefully that makes good, but I can’t buy into the notion that the smaller niche projects are a mistake. I actually think they may be very healthy for the genre in general if they are smaller-budgeted and manage to turn a profit with a relatively small-but-respectable box office run.

 

[Primal Slayer]

With the way the box office is looking, I don't think they will continue to let Todd do his thing.

I dont understand how WB even allowed Joker 2 to balloon into a $150-$200mill budget film. Especially after 1 had $55mill budget.

 

[Black Narcissus]

I’m more excited for Supergirl flick to be honest. I hope they give her the sword.

 

[Sawyer]

I dont understand how WB even allowed Joker 2 to balloon into a $150-$200mill budget film. Especially after 1 had $55mill budget.

Zaslav trying to swing his **** around even though he’s got no sense for any of this stuff.

Let’s keep in mind that there were rumors that Phillips was his first choice to take over DC back when they were moving away from Walter Hamada.

 

[DCDAVE]

Does the Joker bomb effect James Gunns DCU? I don’t see how an Elseworlds movie can kill a franchise but I am hearing chatter. So what is the truth.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Does the Joker bomb effect James Gunns DCU? I don’t see how an Elseworlds movie can kill a franchise but I am hearing chatter. So what is the truth.

No. Though it will just make it that much harder general audience wise to get people in the seats with yet another DC flop. 5 in a row.

 

[DCDAVE]

No. Though it will just make it that much harder general audience wise to get people in the seats with yet another DC flop. 5 in a row.

It’s amazing how Joker flopped. Aquaman actually did the best and everyone knew the DCEU was done. Unless Superman is the greatest movie of all time, it might be in trouble. I mean even The Batman only hit just below $800 million and that was arguably the best comic book movie since Endgame.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I think The Batman is a good model for Superman, or something like Captain America First Avenger or Batman Begins, where the first movie doesn't gross the big box office numbers but gets that great word of mouth and grows its audience. Which is much more difficult to do in today's day and age.

 

[DCDAVE]

I think The Batman is a good model for Superman, or something like Captain America First Avenger or Batman Begins, where the first movie doesn't gross the big box office numbers but gets that great word of mouth and grows its audience. Which is much more difficult to do in today's day and age.

Those movies were not going to be the key to a movie universe. The Batman and Batman Begins was its own thing and Captain America was never on Superman’s level until the success of the Avengers movies. If Superman bombs the DCU could go the way of the Universal Monster Universe.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Those movies were not going to be the key to a movie universe. The Batman and Batman Begins was its own thing and Captain America was never on Superman’s level until the success of the Avengers movies. If Superman bombs the DCU could go the way of the Universal Monster Universe.

They were absolutely designed to be a key to a movie universe. Batman Begins was supposed to relaunch the Batman movie franchise, after Batman & Robin. Captain America and Thor were supposed to continue to build up hype for The Avengers. Even Iron Man in 2008 didn't gross a billion dollars (its domestic total was around the $300 mil range).

You can't build a new universe and gross a billion dollars right off the bat. Especially after all the bombs have damaged the DC brand.

 

[lenz]

I think 700m should be seen as a solid number to aim for regarding Superman. I would predict it exceeds that number, but I wouldn't be too surprised if comes in slightly under that either. The DC grosses are much more unpredictable.

I'm hoping it's big because it's easy to see WB losing faith in any character that isn't Batman. That's why they spent 200m on a Joker sequel, possibly even against their better insticts. The biggest successes they've had (aside from outliers like Aquaman and the first Wonder Woman film) have been Batman related.

 

[DCDAVE]

They were absolutely designed to be a key to a movie universe. Batman Begins was supposed to relaunch the Batman movie franchise, after Batman & Robin. Captain America and Thor were supposed to continue to build up hype for The Avengers. Even Iron Man in 2008 didn't gross a billion dollars (its domestic total was around the $300 mil range).

You can't build a new universe and gross a billion dollars right off the bat. Especially after all the bombs have damaged the DC brand.

How much do you think WB is expecting from Superman. It’s gonna be their top marketed film next year. Sadly anything less than 700 million won’t cut it. Superman will either be a success or bomb. No in between. The last two summer movies that came out around Superman’s release date was Barbie and Deadpool. Those movies made a billion. Zazie expects the same for Supes.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

How much do you think WB is expecting from Superman. It’s gonna be their top marketed film next year. Sadly anything less than 700 million won’t cut it. Superman will either be a success or bomb. No in between. The last two summer movies that came out around Superman’s release date was Barbie and Deadpool. Those movies made a billion. Zazie expects the same for Supes.

If he really expects that, he is a moron.

 

[DCDAVE]

If he really expects that, he is a moron.

He has to expect it. He needs investors. Why else would he hire Gunn. To make movies that only make $500 million? He wants movies that advertisers will want to promote the DC/WB brand.