When it comes time for two powerhouses to stand toe-to-toe, someone is going to blink. Marvel Studios went up against Warner Bros. on the release dates for Batman v Superman and Captain America 3, and the WB backed down.
The news comes from Variety who broke the story earlier today. Warner Bros. has decided to move up the release of its superhero film from May 06, 2016 to March 25, 2016. Though Captain America: Winter Solider opened in April of this year, the March time frame is an odd one for Warner Bros. to take. Looking back, March 2014 had such winners as Better Living Through Chemistry, Divergence, Bad Words, and Noah. According to Rotten Tomatoes, March 2013 saw 20 movies released, with a Rotten Tomatoes Average of 41%. Ten of those movies received a rating of less than 40%. And do we really need to remember the March 2012 release of John Carter?
Typically, February sees the worst movies hit theaters, with January close behind as studios dump their movies they have little faith in during those months. March starts the turn around into Summer, but Batman v Superman coming out at the end of the month, right at the tail-end of spring break, means one of two things A) the movie isn’t as good as we hoped it would be or B) Warner Bros. is risking success on the doldrums of the season. The LEGO Movie, for example, broke the box office in February 2014, and with that success, it could be a sign that the right movie, released at just the right time, could result in box office gold. If I were a betting person, my guess is Warner Bros. is banking on that specific weekend release to push all other movies out of the way, and hoping the success carries to Memorial Day weekend.
5 Comments
March to the end of May for memorial day is not going to happen. Maybe they are looking for an Easter weekend take over.
I don’t think WB has predicted the tomato rating and decided to put it in a month with the others of similar rating. I also do not think it’s going to automatically suck if it’s in March. They are just trying to find a time when it’s not competing with another movie.
I don’t really have a lot of hope for this movie though but it’s for a different reason. I feel like all the Frank Miller stuff they are gushing about is going to ruin the movie for me. I really do not want to see Superman and Batman at odds the entire movie. And everyone that I know that doesn’t know the comics all say the same thing “Wouldn’t Superman just punch Batman into space because Batman is just a normal guy?” I really think that they should focus on developing their friendship. Everyone knows that Frank Miller hates Superman and I don’t think people want to see a movie where he is made out to be the bad guy which is what Miller did in Dark Knight Returns.
“the movie isn’t as good as we hoped it would be”
Silliest thing ever. Why would they spend the money they are spending to throw it away when they are still in the process of making it? If it “isn’t as good as we hoped it would be”, right now is literally the moment the would make improvements not relegate it to a bad month. This movie is going to kill the box-office. More people saw MoS in it’s opening weekend than CA:WS, add Batman and Wonder Woman and it will print its own money. I find it much more likely that it is ahead of schedule and sees no reason to have to wait AND compete… especially when movies are starting to have their work-print/screeners leak before release.
You should ask the people behind John Carter… or The Spirit… or maybe even the first Daredevil movie…
I’m not sure what I should ask. Many blockbusters also failed in prime movie-going months as well. I seem to remember The Lone Ranger had a nice July release as did R.I.P.D. Speed Racer and After Earth came out in may and both bombed… bad. John Carter was a good movie that was poorly marketed because of a bloated budget – the spirit just plain sucked and should never have been made and Daredevil was marketed as a “date movie”… being released on Valentine’s Day (they also played up romance in the theatrical release which was rectified a bit by the Director’s Cut). I think promotion, rather than release date, does more to show the level of support for a film from the company releasing it. Batman v Superman sells its self. It would never be placed in the bargain bin of theatre releases while its still filming because they can still make changes. If this release fails they would have to start from scratch. They would push the date back not move it up.