A recent rumor that David Zaslav might be thinking about making a major change at Warner Bros. following a number of box office disappointments appears to have been confirmed.
According to Bloomberg, the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO is currently engaged in "early and informal" talks with potential successors to studio heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy. Joker: Folie à Deux's abysmal box office performance is believed to be a major reason for the change, but Todd Phillips' critically-panned sequel is not the only recent WB movie to underperform at the box office.
Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17 will reportedly end up costing the studio between $75 million to $80 million over the course of its theatrical run, and the studio is also coming off another bomb in Alto Knights - although Zaslav is believed to have greenlit the movie himself despite others voicing concerns about it having limited prospects.
Though De Luca and Abdy have certainly faced criticism, some feel that they are being unfairly scapegoated, since deals for some of the box office misses mentioned above were in place before they took the reins of the studio in June 2022. The pair also signed some massive deals with the likes of Tom Cruise and Margot Robbie during their time as co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.
A Minecraft Movie arrives this weekend and is estimated to do fairly well, and Sinners hits on April 18. Ryan Coogler's period vampire movie seems to be a bit of a wildcard, with analysts unsure of how audiences will respond following mixed reports from test-screenings.
Joker 2 had grossed just $206 million at the global box office (including $58 million in North America) by the end of its theatrical run, and is expected to lose at least $150 million to $200 million for the studio.
This is a far cry from the first Joker movie, which took in over $1 billion worldwide and was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time before Deadpool and Wolverine surpassed it last year.
From acclaimed writer/director/producer Todd Phillips comes Joker: Folie À Deux, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2019’s Academy Award-winning Joker, which earned more than $1 billion at the global box office and remains the (second) highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
The new film stars Joaquin Phoenix once again in his Oscar-winning dual role as Arthur Fleck/Joker, opposite Oscar winner Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born). The film also stars Oscar nominees Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Catherine Keener (Get Out, Capote), alongside Zazie Beetz, reprising her role from Joker.
The movie is rated R for “some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity.”