With the March opening of Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice many months off (an ominous teaser trailer debuted to a mixed response April 17 and racked up 47 million YouTube views during its first week), it's obviously too early to know whether Warners can execute a series of interlocking tentpoles based in the DC universe. But with the stakes very high, Wall Street and Hollywood are asking: Can all the cooks in the studio's kitchen create films featuring Batman, Wonder Woman and even Aquaman and the Flash to rival the nearly $7 billion in global box office Disney's Marvel Studios has generated from nine films since 2008, including Iron Man, Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy? Plus, the May 1 release of Avengers: Age of Ultron is sure to bring in another $1 billion.
"Marvel has been an unbelievable platform for Disney to build and foster franchises," says BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield. "The question for Warners is, can they replicate that strategy using DC?" No one doubts the value of the DC intellectual property, but as analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson observes, "It's all in the execution."
In the early going, some in Hollywood are questioning whether Warners has acted too much in haste without having fleshed out the world on which so much hinges. Grumbling among talent reps came especially in response to the studio's strategy of hiring five writers to compete for a job on Wonder Woman, which has a June 2017 release date. On Aquaman, set for 2018, sources say Warners commissioned scripts from three writers, one of whom followed the studio's direction only to be told the rules governing the universe had changed and his work no longer was usable. Another writer has been on hold for the film for months as the studio works to define its vision. "They just haven't been thorough about their whole world and how each character fits and how to get the most out of each writer's time by giving them direction," says a rep with knowledge of the process. "Obviously, Marvel's very good at that."
"Marvel has been an unbelievable platform for Disney to build and foster franchises," says BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield. "The question for Warners is, can they replicate that strategy using DC?" No one doubts the value of the DC intellectual property, but as analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson observes, "It's all in the execution."
In the early going, some in Hollywood are questioning whether Warners has acted too much in haste without having fleshed out the world on which so much hinges. Grumbling among talent reps came especially in response to the studio's strategy of hiring five writers to compete for a job on Wonder Woman, which has a June 2017 release date. On Aquaman, set for 2018, sources say Warners commissioned scripts from three writers, one of whom followed the studio's direction only to be told the rules governing the universe had changed and his work no longer was usable. Another writer has been on hold for the film for months as the studio works to define its vision. "They just haven't been thorough about their whole world and how each character fits and how to get the most out of each writer's time by giving them direction," says a rep with knowledge of the process. "Obviously, Marvel's very good at that."
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