Warner Bros.

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/netflix-warner-bros-movies-theaters-buying-studio-1236601073/

In this post, I will look into Warner Bros, the studio that can’t seem to do DC right with the exception of Batman. Warner Bros is known for making films like Batman, The Matrix, and Harry Potter. More recently, Warner Bros is known for making films like Dune: Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Warner Bros In The Past Three Years

Warner Bros’ 2021 was entirely HBO Max/theatrical releases. This was a way for Warner Bros to release their films when the world was suffering from COVID. Godzilla vs. Kong ($470M) was one of the films credited for bringing audiences back to the movie theaters, and Dune ($408M) was another notable film that did well theatrically despite also being on HBO Max. The first half of 2021 showed that COVID was going to prevent films from being bigger rather than HBO Max. Warner Bros would be helping theaters while other studios like Disney and Sony would hold off their bigger films until the second half of 2021. However, the second half of 2021 showed that HBO Max was holding the films back more than COVID. People would watch films like No Time to Die and Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters, but decide to watch Space Jam: A New Legacy and The Matrix Resurrections at home because they sucked and could easily watch it at home without giving a penny to Warner Bros. Warner Bros would be 4th place in terms of market share in 2021, making only $652M domestically with a 14% market share. The only major film studio that they beat was Paramount that year, but Paramount was almost always dead last from 2012-2021. Warner Bros did do slightly better in 2022 as they made $935M domestically, but they were still in 4th place and had a market share of 13%. Warner Bros lost to Paramount, but they at least beat Sony. Warner Bros only had 6 films in 2022 compared to the 17 they had in 2021. The Batman is their most notable film of 2022, making $772M worldwide. 2023 was Warner Bros’ 100th anniversary, and it was mixed. The DC Extended Universe self-destructed in 2023 with the final four films in the universe: Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($134M), The Flash ($271M), Blue Beetle ($131M), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ($434M). Fortunately, Warner Bros had Barbie, which made $1.446B worldwide and became the highest grossing Warner Bros film of all time. That film definitely covered all the losses from the 2023 DCEU films. Let’s see how well 2024 was for Warner Bros.

2024

Dune: Part Two - Warner Bros started off with a banger. Not only did Warner Bros release one of their best films ever made, Dune: Part Two made $714M worldwide on a budget of $190M, being a huge hit at the box office. The popcorn bucket as well as the goodwill from the first Dune gave part two a $300M increase from its predecessor. Unfortunately for Warner Bros, it gets worse from here. If you told someone that in March 2024, they would’ve looked at you funny and asked “What about Joker: Folie a Deux?” We’ll get to that film soon.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - Warner Bros’ biggest 2021 films had the biggest 2024 sequels. It’s true with Dune, and it’s true with Godzilla and Kong. While it’s not as good as Godzilla Minus One or even Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire made $572M worldwide on a budget of $150M, being a box office hit and became the highest grossing Monsterverse film. You’d think that the hot streak of success for Warner Bros would continue after Dune and Godzilla x Kong, but that wasn’t the case.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Warner Bros really had to capitalize on the huge critical success of Mad Max: Fury Road by waiting nine years to release a spinoff (that doesn’t feature Mad Max) to a film that lost $60M for the studio. The result was Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which made $174M worldwide on a budget of $168M, being a box office bomb. Warner Bros could possibly have lost as much as $95M.

The Watchers - M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan, directed her first film at the age of 25 (what the hell am I doing with my life?). This is probably one of the youngest directors that Hollywood has entrusted to make a film, though I doubt Ishana would’ve been able to if she wasn’t the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan. Unfortunately, The Watchers wasn’t good and only grossed $33M worldwide on a budget of $30M, being a box office bomb. Hollywood almost never allows anyone under 30 to direct a film (especially nowadays), and the failure of The Watchers will make them a little less inclined to give a 20-something year old a chance to make a Hollywood film.

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 - Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 was meant to kickstart a successful western epic that was only common in the old days of Hollywood. Unfortunately for Kevin Costner, the film only made $38M on a budget of $50M, being a box office bomb. If Chapter 1 did this terribly, I don’t think Chapter 2 would’ve been able to hit $30M. Chapter 2 was supposed to release in August 2024, only for the film to be pulled. Warner Bros still needs to release Chapter 2, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s dumped onto Max sometime in 2025. While Chapter 4 is in development, Kevin Costner should end it with Chapter 3, which I doubt Warner Bros would want to be involved in.

Trap - Ishana had her chance, now it’s M. Night Shyamalan’s turn. Trap is as divisive as the other M. Night Shyamalan films, but it at least made $83M on a budget of $30M, being a box office success.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - I probably shouldn’t say the name one more time or I just might summon him. This was supposed to be a straight to streaming Max film, but Tim Burton pushed against the idea. It eventually got a theatrical release on the condition that the film would only be made for less than $100M. Warner Bros is probably as surprised as many others of how well this film did. It made $451M worldwide on a budget of $99M, being a huge hit for Warner Bros. What’s crazier is its domestic performance. Dune: Part Two made $282M domestically, while this film made $294M. How crazy is it that the film almost hit $300M domestically. If only the next film did as well as this one did.

Joker: Folie a Deux - What the fuck, Warner Bros? This should’ve been their biggest moneymaker this year. A good Joker 2 that involved the Joker going nuts in Gotham would’ve made at least $800M worldwide. But no. We got a courtroom musical and a film that hates the fans of Joker 2019. As the old saying goes, you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Because of that, Joker: Folie a Deux made $206M worldwide on a budget of $200M, being a box office bomb and losing the studio $200M. Superman 2025 better knock it out of the park, or DC and Warner Bros will most likely only make Batman films for the next decade.

Warner Bros Film That Hasn’t Been Released Yet

There is one film from Warner Bros that hasn't been released yet that is still slated to come out in 2024: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Let’s see how well this film could do.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim - It’s an anime fantasy film directed by Kenji Kamiyama and is part of the Lord of the Rings franchise. r/boxoffice predicts that The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will make $54M domestically and $133M worldwide. While I do like that Warner Bros is experimenting with Japanese anime for its films, this doesn’t seem like a game changer for anime films in America. None of them have made even $100M domestically, let alone the $300M+ that the original trilogy made. There’s also been some criticism toward the story. It’s adapting one of the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, yet the focus is not on Helm Hammerhand, but on his daughter (who went unnamed in the books). Japanese animated films usually don’t cost very much. With Warner Bros backing the film, maybe it has a higher budget than the average Japanese animated film. As long as the budget is $60M or less, this might be a moderate success, but it’s definitely not going to be the cultural phenomenon that the original Lord of the Rings trilogy was.

How Did Warner Bros Do This Year?

It seems like Warner Bros has a pattern in the amount of releases in the 2020s. The odd numbered years have more than 10 films (2021 had 17 films and 2023 had 12 films) while the even numbered films have less than 10 films (2020 had 5 films and 2022 had 6 films). In this case, Warner Bros only has 9 films with a wide theatrical release in 2024. Out of those nine films, four (maybe five if The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim doesn’t blow up in Warner Bros’ face) of them are hits. The successful films (Dune: Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) did make a lot of money for the studio, but the failures (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Joker: Folie a Deux) really hurt in disappointing ways. The summer of 2024 must’ve been one of the worst summers for Warner Bros. They went from having Barbie to The Watchers and Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1. Trap did fine, but nothing spectacular. I think one more wide theatrical release would’ve made this decent. Juror No. 2 would’ve made a great wide theatrical release, and it sucks how Warner Bros treated what’s possibly the final film from Clint Eastwood. As much as I hate to say this, I don’t think it would’ve been a financial success, but they shouldn’t have done Clint Eastwood dirty after he worked with the studio for fifty years. Let’s see how well 2025 could be for Warner Bros.

2025

Companion - It’s a psychological thriller film directed by Drew Hancock. The teaser trailer has been vague on the plot. The producers of Companion were behind Barbarian, which was a success for 20th Century Studios. I could see Companion make $40M domestically and $60M worldwide. It should be a hit if it’s budgeted similar to Barbarian.

Sinners - It’s a horror film directed by Ryan Coogler. Like with Companion, the trailer has been vague on the plot, though we do know that it’s about twin brothers who return home to find some sort of evil. As to what that evil is, we’ll probably have to wait until the second trailer or possibly when people watch the film. It’s supposedly a period drama vampire film, though I’m not sure if that’s still true. I’d say Sinners makes $100M domestically and $210M worldwide. With a budget of $90M, it’ll make a small profit.

Alto Knights - It’s a biographical crime drama film directed by Barry Levinson and has Robert De Niro in a dual role as Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. The film is about Frank Costello retiring from the mafia after Vito Genovese orders a hit on Frank Costello. I’m glad we get to see Robert De Niro as a Vito again, even if it’s not the one from The Godfather Part II. Alto Knights releases on March 21, 2025. As of November 25, 2024, Warner Bros hasn’t released a trailer yet for this film, yet they did with Sinners (March 7, 2025) and for A Minecraft Movie (April 4, 2025), Mickey 17 (April 18, 2025), and F1 (June 27, 2025). I wouldn’t be surprised if Warner Bros decides to push the film to August or something. If Alto Knights is somehow good, I could see it making $50M domestically and $110M worldwide, making a small profit for Warner Bros. Crime films don’t make as much as they used to back in the old days of The Godfather.

A Minecraft Movie - It’s an adventure comedy film directed by Jared Hess and is based on the video game of the same name. The first trailer was ridiculed for the ugly looking Minecraft characters and being unfavorably compared to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Jack Black’s Steve saying “I…am Steve.” probably didn’t help either. The second trailer had a more positive response, even though I doubt anything changed. Maybe they should touch up the designs, but the problem could be the marketing giving bad first impressions and less on the presentation of the film. I feel like people will watch it for the lolz, and if it’s somehow good (on par with Detective Pikachu at least), I could see A Minecraft Movie making $370M domestically and $760M worldwide. It’s the best selling video game of all time. While it’s not going to touch The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $1.3B (Mario’s a juggernaut in the video game landscape compared to Minecraft), I think it’ll be the second biggest video game film of all time (unless Sonic the Hedgehog 3 somehow makes $760M+ worldwide).

Mickey 17 - It’s a science fiction black comedy film directed by Bong Joon-ho and is based on a novel called Mickey7. It’s about a guy named Mickey Barnes, who signs up to be an expendable. Everytime he does, another version of him is created. The trailer seems charming, but it may not have the mainstream appeal of other big blockbusters. I also doubt this would reach the quality of Parasite (it would be great if it somehow did). I’d say Mickey 17 makes $120M domestically and $280M worldwide. The budget is $150M, and I just don’t see Mickey 17 hitting the break even point.

Flowervale Street - It’s a science fiction film directed by David Robert Mitchell. Not much is known about the film. The budget is $85M, but I really don’t see it hitting that amount. Maybe the trailer could blow everyone away (whenever that releases). Judging without the trailer, I’d say Flowervale Street makes $30M domestically and $80M worldwide. It’ll bomb for Warner Bros.

Final Destination: Bloodlines - It’s a supernatural horror film directed by Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky and is the sixth installment of the Final Destination films. There’s no specific release date for this film, but if I were to pick, I think it should release on May 30, 2025. It could work as counterprogramming to Karate Kid: Legends. I could see it making $55M domestically and $155M worldwide. The nostalgia from Final Destination films could make this the third biggest film in the franchise.

F1 - It’s a sports action drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski. After Apple worked with Paramount on Killers of the Flower Moon, Universal on Argylle, and Sony on Napoleon and Fly Me to the Moon, Apple decides to work with Warner Bros on F1. Even though Wolfs lost its theatrical release, F1 didn’t. Then again, there’s more commercial appeal for a film about racing than a film about two fixers that have to work together. Apple shouldn’t expect a film to be as financially successful as Joseph Kosinski’s other film, Top Gun: Maverick, but it could be the most successful of the Apple theatrical releases. I’d say F1 makes $140M domestically and $300M worldwide. That’s probably still not enough for Apple to make a profit on this film theatrically (I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple blew $200M+ on this film), but as long as it’s good, it won’t be like Argylle.

Superman - It’s a superhero film directed by James Gunn and is the start of the DC Universe. Even though every DC film since Black Adam bombed, I still have hope with Superman. James Gunn is involved and has also made the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. I’ll need to see a trailer to get a better idea, but if James Gunn knocks it out of the park like he did with the Guardians of the Galaxy films, I can see Superman make $350M domestically and $750M worldwide. It’s a bold prediction, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this is the biggest superhero film of 2025.

The Battle of Baktan Cross - It’s a crime drama thriller film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Not much is known about the film. This would be the second time Paul Thomas Anderson works with a major film studio (first being Punch-Drunk Love from Columbia), though I have a feeling it’s more mainstream than his usual films. His biggest film is 2007’s There Will Be Blood and that didn’t even hit $100M. I’ll have to see a trailer, but if it is more mainstream than his other films, I’d say The Battle of Baktan Cross will make $70M domestically and $150M worldwide. It’ll be a box office bomb with a good portion of Paul Thomas Anderson (he doesn’t miss with the quality of his films though), but it’ll be his highest grossing film.

The Conjuring: Last Rites - It’s a supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves and is the fourth and final film of The Conjuring franchise. The Conjuring films usually do well, and this film will be no different. I’d say The Conjuring: Last Rites will make $110M domestically and $230M worldwide. The Conjuring universe peaked from 2013-2018 with the first two films and The Nun making over $300M. Those days are unfortunately gone for Warner Bros, but they should be happy with this film most likely making over $200M worldwide.

The Bride! - It’s a sci-fi monster film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and takes inspiration from The Bride of Frankenstein. I really don’t know what to expect for a film like this. There’s supposedly big dance numbers in this film, so I really don’t know what to make of it. I’d say The Bride! makes $50M domestically and $120M worldwide. It’s rumored that the film costs more than $100M to make, and that’s just not gonna be good for this film.

Mortal Kombat 2 - It’s a martial arts fantasy film directed by Simon McQuoid and is the sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat. The 2021 film was somewhat of a disappointment due to its lackluster story and the fact that no tournament happened in the film. The director did seem to want to address the negative reactions to the previous film, so that could mean he’s going to want to improve with the sequel. If he does, I could see Mortal Kombat 2 make $70M domestically and $160M worldwide, making a small profit for Warner Bros. Those four years better be worth it, or there’s not gonna be a Mortal Kombat 3.

Thoughts on the 2025 Slate - The main theme of 2025 for Warner Bros is this: experimentation. It's almost the exact opposite of what Universal is doing in 2025. Sure, there’s The Conjuring: Last Rites and Mortal Kombat 2, so the slate isn’t entirely void of sequels. I really see a good portion of these bombing like Mickey 17 and Flowervale Street, but Superman and A Minecraft Movie could definitely be big if WB plays their cards right. Financially, some films will be in the red, but I’ll give Warner Bros credit for trying to take more risks with original films.

Future - Lee Cronin and Denis Villeneuve will make films for Warner Bros. Denis’ film is most likely Dune 3, but we’ll see. Warner Bros. Pictures Animation will make The Cat in the Hat, Bad Fairies, and Margie Claus. There’s a horror film called Weapons. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is getting a sequel. In terms of DC, we’re getting Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and The Batman - Part II.