Warner Bros. May Cut Some DCEU Films From Schedule Due To Poor ‘Batman V Superman’ Reviews And Box Office

It’s really hard to look at a movie with a worldwide box office of over $700 million and call it a failure or a disappointment. Still, that is what many are calling Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it’s believed to be the reason that Warner Bros. is looking to make some changes. Apparently, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) may end up getting some films cut due to poor reviews and the major drop-odd at the box office from its opening weekend.

Warner Bros. does have a lot of films in the DCEU that they are planning to do, and it will end up centering around Justice League. Planned films have been in place for Wonder Woman, Cyborg, The Flash, and others. Now, that whole universe may change some.

Comic Book Movie is reporting that Warner Bros. may say they are “not concerned” with the gigantic drop in the domestic box office for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, but they are. It appears as if that combined with the horribly critical reviews could have the film schedule altered.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is sick and tired of flops. They were not happy with the losses from Pan, In the Heart of the Sea, and Jupiter Ascending to start. Then, they put a lot of faith in Batman v Superman, and are worried with the massive drop from opening weekend to the next.

The huge superhero film is expected to finish out somewhere between $800-$900 million worldwide, but could manage to hit the billion mark. The head of a rival studio says that they were attempting to have DC Comics’ movies match other comic book movies, but it isn’t happening.

“The biggest problem is that it is not turning [DC] into Marvel. The audience has communicated, as have the critics. [It’s a problem if the film doesn’t get to $1 billion considering it has] two of the most iconic characters in history.”

DCEU movies are slated to go on through 2020 at this time, and the current problems could lead to changes. Zack Snyder is still attached to direct both parts of Justice League, but fans have petitioned to have him removed from both films. Warner Bros. may end up listening to those pleas.

As of now though, Warner Bros. is not going to be replacing Snyder as that is not one of the changes set to take place. The studio is going to make sure that the mistakes made in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice aren’t made in the superhero compilation film.

Actually, Warner Bros. is denying that there is any problem and that any changes are being made, but it’s quite possible.

One big change is that Warner Bros. may look to produce a number of smaller films so that their tentpole movies from LEGO, DCEU, and the Harry Potter franchise can have a stronger focus put on them.

There has already been one change, and it is the release date of Wonder Woman which got moved up three weeks in the summer of next year. It was originally scheduled to open on June 23, 2017, but will now hit theaters on June 2.

Collider reports that this is great for the film, but it is scheduled to go head-to-head against Bad Boys 3. While that may not be a problem for Warner Bros., it does cause some concern for Sony as they may not want to face off with DC’s strong female lead in Gal Gadot.

The DCEU could very well undergo some changes, but Warner Bros. is still saying that won’t end up happening. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice really can’t be considered a failure or a flop at the box office, but the critical reviews are hard to stomach. It will be interesting to see if there are any alterations or cuts, but any major changes could anger fans even more.

[Image via DC Entertainment]