BOX OFFICE: BATMAN v SUPERMAN Expected To Be Less Profitable Than MAN OF STEEL; $1 Billion Haul Now Unlikely
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice may have recently surpassed Man of Steel's worldwide box office haul, but things are not looking good for Warner Bros. in terms of how much of a profit they'll make.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice looks set to take the #1 spot at the box office again this weekend, but Bloomberg reports that the movie looks set to ultimately make Warner Bros. less money than Man of Steel did (that's once costs and revenue from ancillaries are factored in). One of the most expensive movies ever made, Batman v Superman looks set to make Warner Bros. a $278 million profit once they take account of everything from home video sales to TV and merchandise. That's less than Man of Steel's projected $300 million, and to be as successful as Marvel's movies - which tend to generate a profit of roughly 44% - Batman v Superman would need to gross $1.15 billion. That just goes to show that the movie is far from a flop, though analysts believe the studio are probably still disappointed.
"I’m sure that it’s a bit of a disappointment," says SNL Kagan analyst Wade Holden. "They were probably hoping for box-office numbers similar to ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ since ‘Batman v Superman’ had DC’s three most well-known comic book heroes together in the same movie” -- Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman." Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities who recommends Time Warner stock, added: "They have to be pretty satisfied; they probably aren’t elated." To make matters worse, it sounds like Batman v Superman will definitely fall short of $1 billion worldwide. It's so far made $720.8 million in total, and that includes China. What do you think?