Despite the fact that it looked like the man with the x-ray vision just lost a staring contest with Marvel’s star-spangled Avenger, even Bruce Wayne could tell you it’s all about the Benjamins.
According to Jeff Sneider and Todd Cunningham at The Wrap, Warner Bros. has moved the release date of Zac Snyder’s Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice from May 6, 2016 up nearly a month and a half earlier to March 25. This puts Warner Bros. out of direct competition with Marvel Studios, which will continue to keep its May 6 release date for Captain America 3.
From a business perspective, the move makes sense. If both movies are going head-to-head and clamoring for the public’s box office dollars at the same time, then the two films could underperform on opening weekend as a result. Opening weekend for a movie is a crucial time to build box office buzz to lure in more potential viewers in the following weeks of a film’s release. Also, sadly, sometimes audiences will not view a film if it’s seen to be underperforming. It’s psychology. No one wants to hitch their wagon to a (perceived) loser. Everyone wants to be part of the “in” group.
Further, honestly, from a long-range perspective, Warner Bros. can’t take the risk of Captain America 3 cutting into their grand introduction of the Affleck/Cavill-driven Batman V. Superman because the studio has placed so much on the film’s success. The studio hopes that the movie will be its answer to the world-building that Marvel Studios has accomplished with its Avengers-related films. The cost/benefit of throwing down for a showdown with Cap 3 doesn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things and WB’s long-term goals.
Batman V. Superman director Zac Snyder excited fans this last month at the San Diego Comic-Con, showing footage of the film and releasing our first look of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.
In addition to the news of the release move, The Wrap reports that Warner Bros. released a slate of movie release dates that stretch out to 2020, including nine unnamed films centered on the DC Comics universe of characters.
[Source: The Wrap]