DC Universe

[Ben]

Not to poo on this colossal fumble of a film any more than I have, but if a film barely makes its outlay back, Dace, it can't be termed anything but.

[Dan]

It's not a failure, to be sure. It can be classified a box-office hit. But Warner dumped so much money into this film (both in its production and in marketing) and they only get so much back from theaters after paying back fees that it needed to make $1.6 billion in order to be in black ink, at least according to analysts. By not reaching that goal target, the film is a disappointment. It's similar to what happened with Sony and Amazing Spider-Man 2.

[Ben]

I heard it was a billion that needed to get recouped, which it'll do by the time of home video and TV sales easily, but can also see that it could well be nearer that larger figure when one factors in the residuals and back-end deals. Whichever way, WB was hoping for, and needed, well over a billion, but will only just about break even on the theatrical release.

[EricJ]

It's similar to what happened with Sony and Amazing Spider-Man 2.

That's the best metaphor so far--
Sony didn't just have a sequel riding on TASM2, they had their whole Corporate-Competitive Name Brand House-Franchise Linked Universe living or dying on it, with the Villain-Spinoff Movie already planted. And they didn't get it, because the central "root" movie was a mess.
The difference with Warner being, if Sony HAD done the Sinister Six movie like they had on the docket, it probably wouldn't have "fixed" the franchise the way that Warner's reshooting Suicide Squad to try and fix their problem post-mortem.

[Dacey]

I'd say TASM2 failed because it was trying to create its own "universe" around just one freaking character. At least with DC they have a lot more to work with (it also seems to have put a temporary hold on Marc Webb's film career, which is kinda a shame since 500 Days of Summer really was alright).

And, as I said in my review, the DC movies are actually going to get made in this case, since WB got the ball rolling and didn't let it stop (unlike with TASM 3, where Marc Webb apparently admitted he had "no idea" where the next film was going to go when it was set for release in less than two years!). That may not apply to the later titles (time will tell if we get the Green Lantern reboot film), but at least Justice League, Wonder Woman and even Aquaman are surefire releases now.

[Ben]

As well as the solo Bat-fleck Bat-flick, although more solo Superman is again open to debate going by what's being said on the Justice League set.

[James]

Wow, not much Suicide Squad discussion! I wan't a fan. This video perfectly encapsulates a lot of the story issues (spoilers but not really anything huge that you couldn't have guessed).

[EricJ]

This video perfectly encapsulates a lot of the story issues (spoilers but not really anything huge that you couldn't have guessed).

The only single solitary "pitch" that Squad had was that one studio was making a Villain-spinoff movie to save time and introduce their lesser characters into the franchise in one big rush, so the other one had to too. Actually, between Squad and Sinister Six, we'll never be sure which of the two movies came first as a competing-franchise cause and effect, it's sort of chicken-and-egg.
That's the problem with jokes from people who think studios want to make movies because of the movie.

Still, bring on that Honest Trailer.

[James]

The "pitch" in that joke video wasn't the film pitch to the studio, but the character in the film pitching the Suicide Squad to the higher-ups in the government to get approval to move forward.

Spot-on on the Sinister Six comment though!

[Randall]

I did see SS last week, only because it was the only film playing at the Seattle Cinerama Theater, and I wanted to see the theater while I was in town.

Yikes, SS was a bit of a mess. It was a weird choice to make this so early in the DC film cycle, and the rushed production did make it half-baked. Too many characters with nothing to do, but there were some really good performances. Aside from weak plotting, my biggest pet peeve is that the menace(s) in the film came from within. Ultimately, Waller was proven wrong. The team was a disaster after all. A more political type of plot (i.e. involving a foreign power) would have been better.

[James]

I had a ton of issues. But the biggest is that the whole premise doesn't work. She says she's creating this group to take on the next Superman who might not be on their side. How is a guy that shoots really good, a guy with the a boomerang, a girl with a bat, and a crocodile man going to stop Superman? Only Diablo could do anything close to maybe slowing a Superman like person down.

The one thing DC is doing right is casting. They're getting the right people but not giving them something to work with.

[Ben]

After the SuperBatSh*t debacle and the mess this sounds, I'm not going to bother with it. Still haven't seen the new Trek and now Pete's Dragon is playing, so this isn't a priority.

Guess I'll wait to see how wha-wha-Wonder Woman is, though from a pal who was on the set (and did not have very nice things to say about Gal "diva" Gadot), the script was still just as incoherent as what we've come to expect from these DC movies. Of course, being an editor myself, I know that a lot can be rescued in post, not that it seemed to help these past two movies.

Such a shame: DC arguably has the better characters but Marvel is wiping the floor with them in the better films. The first Cap Amercia played here on TV again last night and it just seemed so effortless at keeping all the plates spinning. It'll be interesting to see how WW's similarly vintaged period piece compares...

[Randall]

Let me put it this way: I way preferred BvS to Suicide Squad.

[Ben]

Oh dear.

[Dan]

I prefer Suicide Squad over Batman v Superman, at the very least it was more enjoyable. But it was still just an alright movie, nothing spectacular. I think it halted some of the bleeding, but it didn't assuage my concerns that this so-called DCEU may be too broken for them to be able to fix.