The Hollywood Reporter published a piece today about the “chilly summer” that Warner Bros. had, pointing out that its big summer movies like Magic Mike XXL, Hot Pursuit and Entourage didn’t do as well at the box office as they had hoped. It’s mostly a business article about behind-the-scenes stuff and how people’s jobs could be in danger, but there was an interesting comment from Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara:
He says this summer would have looked better had Warners not pushed Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice from July to March 2016. “It was a tough decision at the time because it was going to create a hole in 2015,” he says. “But it was absolutely the right decision for the franchise, for DC and the movie. Having seen the movie multiple times, and again last night, I’m extremely confident it was the right decision to make the movie better. And it’s so important for the studio to get the foundation right on DC.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was supposed to hit theaters this past July, but it got delayed to May 2016 before getting pushed up to March 2016. Based on Tsujihara’s comments, it was a smart move to ensure that the 10 or so upcoming DC Comics movies have a strong foundation in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. If Warner Bros. plays their cards right I’m sure they’ll take a weak 2015 for all of the box office success they hope to get in the upcoming summers leading to 2020 and beyond, thanks to Batman and his pals.
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter
