If SUPERMAN Flops, What Happens To DC Studios And WB?

If SUPERMAN Flops, What Happens To DC Studios And WB?

If the Man of Steel's universe starting film does poorly, DC Studios and WB could be looking at a potential sale, but who would be up for such a huge purchase?

Editorial Opinion
By ChandlerMcniel - Mar 12, 2025 11:03 AM EST
Filed Under: Superman

While the DCU technically got started with Creature Commandos, Superman is the true start to a universe that hopefully continues to blossom. The movie is directed and written by the creative head of DC Studios, James Gunn, who also famously directed all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies. The movie stars David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Characters we've never seen on the big screen before like Guy Gardner's Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, and the Engineer. 

This is clearly going to be a huge movie that lays some groundwork for a universe just being born into existence. This isn't Iron Man in 2008. This movie isn't being made with the mere possibility of creating a cinematic universe as a huge maybe. That's Superman's entire purpose. 

There is most definitely a lot of hype and excitement for Superman. On YouTube, the trailer has 3.2 million views, and that's only counting the views from Warner Bros official account. That number goes up by millions more when you take other videos into effect. It's being written about and reported on constantly, and there's buzz galore. However, not all that buzz is good. 

Take this with a grain of salt of course, but there have been several insiders that claim to have spoken to people who have watched Superman and have either said it flat out is a bad movie or that it's just okay. Bad and okay are not how you'd want to start a cinematic universe. 

Fan response has also been a bit mixed. There are plenty of fans who think the movie looks great, and there are plenty of fans who think the movie looks, well, goofy is the best word, something that was only exacerbated by the strange wide angle lens shot of Corenswet flying. Critics of what we've seen so far tend to cite the costume design as a big plight on the movie. 

Superman is an investment, so what happens if there's no return or not enough return on that investment?

If Superman flops, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow could be in immediate trouble. Zaslav may give it the unceremonious Batgirl treatment and axe a project that is essentially done to take a tax write off. It's possible that Supergirl could try to make up the loss of Superman, but if the latter flops, the former is likely to flop as well. If Superman fails, the most likely scenario is that all future DC Studios projects, except maybe some that are already filming, will be canceled. 

The exception to this could potentially be The Batman Part II. Matt Reeves Batman universe has already proven itself to be financially successful. While it wasn't a billion dollar hit, The Batman still brought in a good bit of cash. 

So, if Superman fails financially and all DC Studios projects are canceled or put on hold, what will happen to WB? There is a good chance Warner Bros would have to start selling their popular IPs that haven't been particularly successful as of late, but still prove to be popular like Godzilla and Kong, HBO, and, possibly DC Studios. It would either be that, or the sale of the entire company as a last ditch effort to at least get the people who own the sinking ship paid. 

There was even a short lived rumor, which was probably just a speculation snowball pushed down a hill, that Zaslav had ordered Gunn to put as many characters as he could into Superman to show off the DC properties that could be made into movies to prep for a sale of DC. Gunn naturally denied this, but it's still possible Zaslav wanted him to do this as a sort of contingency plan for if the new DCU fails to meet financial expectations. 

The question then is this: who would be up for buying such an enormous company or the rights to its huge IP? Sony would surely look into purchasing some of the IP as they have a hand on the rights to Godzilla already. Sony's movies haven't done well as of late, so they may not be looking to drop extra cash on new IP, but they could also view purchasing established properties and franchises as an investment opportunity. Another huge buyer could be Comcast, who currently own NBCUniversal and their streaming service, Peacock, a service that only has about thirty million subscribers compared to Netflix's three hundred million. Purchasing streaming rights or WB's whole streaming service, Max, could boost their streaming revenue exponentially. 

However, the biggest buyer is, of course, Disney. 

Disney purchasing DC or WB as a whole has been a topic of conversation before. If Disney bought the media rights to DC, they would own nearly every superhero in existence. To many, that’s a terrifying thought. A lot of fans of the earlier days of the MCU have lost hope in Disney’s ability to handle the franchise. They’ve had more flops post Avengers: Endgame than pre Endgame by far, but they’ve also shoveled more money at each movie. Handing Disney the keys to Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and more could certainly pave the way for some incredible spectacles of films, particularly an adaptation of the DC Versus Marvel stories. Batman versus Captain America. Thor versus Wonder Woman. Cyborg versus Iron Man. The opportunity for cinematic events is nearly endless. Say what you will about Disney, but they’ve been able to form a successful cinematic universe with much more ease than Warner Bros. 

A lot rides on the success of Superman. The fate of the DCU and Warner as a whole likely rides on the film. Response to what we’ve been shown so far has been a bit mixed but on the positive side, but we won’t know how the film does until it releases. If it does poorly, we could see some drastic consequences that could potentially even include the sale of DC Studios to Disney. 

What do you think will happen if Superman fails? Is a sale to Disney possible, and is it something you think would be good or bad for DC characters? Let me know!

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TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 3/12/2025, 11:26 AM
Reeves and his Batverse will continue as is, while every other DC character is limited to animation and comics.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 3/12/2025, 11:28 AM

If Superman flops, they are destroyed.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 3/12/2025, 11:32 AM
Nothing because I'd bet 5 it isn't going to flop. Blue morpho can quote me on that one
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 3/12/2025, 11:37 AM
@MyCoolYoung - famous last words.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 3/12/2025, 11:53 AM
@CaptainAwkward - i prefer my last words to be "Jumanji"
DREAMER
DREAMER - 3/12/2025, 11:32 AM
If Superman flops, They can fire DC/CEO Mr Gunn, and focus on Matt Reeves The Batman trilogy and the clayface spinoff
McMurdo
McMurdo - 3/12/2025, 12:19 PM
@DREAMER - the Clayface DCU film?
DREAMER
DREAMER - 3/12/2025, 1:03 PM
@McMurdo - Yeah, a Clayface movie or a tv series like the Penguin
McMurdo
McMurdo - 3/12/2025, 1:13 PM
@DREAMER - sounds thrilling. A boring rip off Nolan universe.
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 3/12/2025, 11:34 AM
I think Superman's budget will be a key factor in determining whether or not this movie is a flop. A $600 million box office on a $150 million budget will be a major hit. That same number on a $300 million budget will be a disappointment.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 3/12/2025, 4:12 PM
@TheJok3r - Also a factor is that WBD are broke and might be relying on Superman's success to fix their problems. If it only breaks even, their problems still remain and may become untenable.
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 3/12/2025, 5:30 PM
@ObserverIO - Even if Superman is a billion $$$ hit, it won't fix WB's problems, there's simply too much mismanagement going on that can be fixed by one movie succeeding.
dragon316
dragon316 - 3/12/2025, 8:51 PM
@TheJok3r - budget and effects and other stuff , reviews , rotten tomatoes not always main factor for movie be big hit dragonball super heroes have no marketing it became number one in box office people may as well like avatar movies go by reviews and rotten tomatoes critics reviews
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 3/12/2025, 11:35 AM
Gunn should have done a COMPLETE and TOTAL reboot. If he fails, his ego and inability put on a business hat instead of a "I'm everyone's best friend!" hat, will be to blame.
CreateNowSlpL8r
CreateNowSlpL8r - 3/12/2025, 12:16 PM
@Lisa89 - True but I dont think he was given that option. They had to release those last few movies and they probably thought some of those projects were successful.

I agree with you though. Its very confusing even if you are trying to pay attention.
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 3/12/2025, 12:22 PM
@Lisa89 - 100%. I would've taken Joss Whedon "post mistakes era" back at DC over this guy.

To answer the question:

I'm guessing they'll continue to let Gunn sink the ship if Supes flops. He'll probably learn from the mistakes and get better with time.

In a perfect world- I'd task Mark Waid to take the lead writing duties, and use Alex Ross' visuals to helm the ideal cinematography.

🪙🪙
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 3/12/2025, 12:33 PM
@KennKathleen - When I see “Whedon” and “DC” in the same sentence, it makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
Pictilli
Pictilli - 3/12/2025, 1:35 PM
@KennKathleen - Waid sucks
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 3/12/2025, 3:14 PM
@Lisa89 - In what sense is the DCEU not a total reboot? That some of the actors are the same? The same can be said of the James Bond franchise which was totally rebooted but some actors were kept as legacy.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 3/12/2025, 3:25 PM
@Nightwing1015 - If only it were that simple. Yes, "some of the actors are the same" unless, of course, they want a bigger/better role. Sure, Nathan Fillion goes from Cory Pitzner to Guy Gardner. Just wait until Jennifer Holland decides to go from Emilia Harcourt to Barbara Gordon or Selina Kyle?? The ridiculousness may never end.
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 3/12/2025, 4:15 PM
@Pictilli -


User Comment Image


User Comment Image



@Lisa89

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User Comment Image

User Comment Image

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Lisa89
Lisa89 - 3/12/2025, 4:21 PM
@KennKathleen - Good casting. Michelle Trachtenberg used to call Joss Whedon "Two-Face" all the time.
RolandD
RolandD - 3/12/2025, 4:40 PM
@Lisa89 - Speaking of ridiculousness, your comment about Jennifer Holland changing to those roles qualifies. Harcourt is part of the DCU, period.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 3/12/2025, 4:52 PM
@RolandD - Do you honestly believe that if Jennifer Holland expressed interest in another role that Gunn would say, "Sorry, sweetheart. I know I'm letting my cabal of cronies switch roles, but not you toots. Harcourt is an essential part of some project I've announced that's not even in pre-production yet, so tough titty."?
RolandD
RolandD - 3/12/2025, 5:01 PM
@Lisa89 - Yes, although not like that. 😉
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 3/12/2025, 5:13 PM
@RolandD - I'll take it a step further. If it could somehow be proven, I'd wager good money that the first piece of casting for the DCU involved Gunn showing an image like this:

User Comment Image

to his wife and saying, like Mr. Miyagi said to Daniel LaRusso, "Choose."
RolandD
RolandD - 3/12/2025, 5:32 PM
@Lisa89 - Damn! What has Jennifer Holland done to you? You can tell me. It’s OK.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 3/12/2025, 5:37 PM
@RolandD - Nothing. It's just indicative of how Gunn conducts himself. When he was put in charge, I knew we'd be in for a bumpy ride because he'd be running the DCU like a spoiled child runs a clubhouse.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 3/12/2025, 6:05 PM
@Lisa89 - Directors reuse actors all the time - if he plays a good version of Guy sobeit. And I doubt Holland will be Kyle or Gordon
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 3/12/2025, 6:08 PM
@Nightwing1015 - Let's hope not. She'll get whatever part she desires. That's the point.
RolandD
RolandD - 3/12/2025, 6:40 PM
@Lisa89 - She already has her DCU role and that’s the point.
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 3/12/2025, 9:20 PM
@Lisa89 - User Comment Image

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Seriously though...

Bobby Canavale

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As

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Easy casting win.
BrainySleep
BrainySleep - 3/12/2025, 11:36 AM
THEY ALL DIE
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 3/12/2025, 11:39 AM
The film will make money for sure. Gunn is a competent filmmaker with the ability to draw larger audiences to his films. Superman is a universally beloved character. I’m sure the opening weekend will prove this. The issue is replay value. If the film isn’t great then the numbers will drop off accordingly as time moves on. I get a strong feeling it’s gonna be one of those movies that makes a great first impression but after repeat viewings you start to notice the cracks on the wall.
Presto76
Presto76 - 3/12/2025, 11:45 AM
@CaptainAwkward - Thats the problem, it has to be huge to be successful. man of steel wasnt huge, what are they basing these predictions on.
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 3/12/2025, 11:54 AM
@Presto76 - This is why they have taken the easy route with shoving a ton of extra characters into this film. It’s like the studio isn’t confident in telling a solo superman story without turning it into a justice league movie. They are banking on acts like as guy gardener, hawkgirl and krypto to draw in extra business when it’s not needed. A good superman story is a story that does not include additional sidekicks imo. Superman fighting multiple villains is fine but why does he need to be saved in his own movie or why does he need to save other heroes who can handle themselves..
Presto76
Presto76 - 3/12/2025, 12:04 PM
@CaptainAwkward - Its because gunn likes group stories, he doesnt feel competent to handle a single character and focus on the established inner circle. it might work to his advantage though, because theres only so many ways you can mix up his relationships with his co workers.
Superheroking
Superheroking - 3/12/2025, 11:40 AM
First of all, we won’t have to see James Gunn said that or James Gunn did that headlines, because he’ll be packing up his stuff @ WB’s lot.

Looking forward to it tbh.
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 3/12/2025, 11:50 AM
@Superheroking - nah, I got a feeling they're gonna give this guy a lot of chances. Even snyder got 2.5 chances with WB 😅
Superheroking
Superheroking - 3/12/2025, 12:01 PM
@BraveNewClunge - Nah. WB can’t afford to give me more chances. Money is tighter than ever
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