More DC projects are on the way.
WB CEO Kevin Tsujihara took part in a conference in Phoenix and said the company is increasing production of their major franchises, which includes DC as well as Harry Potter, LEGO and more, as the big tent poles are increasingly taking a larger percentage of the box office market share.
Regarding DC, Kevin Tsujihara made specific mention of capitalizing on the “rabid” fan base of director-to-consumer digital brands, such as their Machinima YouTube Channel, hinting a DC project could be involved (or even a DC Netflix-type format).
“We’ve been working on that quite feverishly over the last 12 months,” Tsujihara said, reports The Wrap.
Kevin Tsujihara also said WB is also currently working with theater owners to get their movies released in homes closer to the theatrical premieres.
“We are having very constructive conversations with the exhibitor for first time we have had in a long time,” Tsujihara said, reports Variety. “And what we said is that, all things being equal, we want to figure it out with you. We are working out with them to figure out a new window. … We have to offer consumers more choices, earlier. … We think its an imperative. We are going to do it.”
Tsujihara mentioned how well their HBO’s Westworld is doing, even comparing it to Game of Thrones.
“I am really, really excited about the opportunity that we potentially have with Westworld,” Tsujihara said. “If you look at the viewer data on Westworld, its first year viewing on all platforms is greater than Game of Thrones.”
While it wasn’t touched upon, there have been rumors that WB is developing a DC project for HBO in similar tone to Game of Thrones (Nightwing is speculated). Tsujihara goes on to note landing a hit for TV (in addition to Westworld) would be pretty big.
“The biggest way for Warner Bros. to move the needle was if we created a hit show for Turner or HBO,” Tsujihara said.
For their DC brand, Warner Bros. has their Justice League slate of movies in development, with Wonder Woman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League coming out next year; Ben Affleck is developing a Batman movie; WB has their popular DC TV shows including The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl and Gotham, which generate over a billion dollars, and WB also has a hit on their hands with the DC Comics Rebirth event.
