Superman vs Batman will open opposite Captain America 3

[Wayne49]

I think perspective is everything when it comes to Man of Steel. Sure we can volley rationale for what constitutes 'success' in the financial arena. But what is undeniable is that more is expected from the subsequent sequel that is suppose to be the stepping stone for the crown jewel of the license, the Justice League. No matter how it's suggested, the 500 LB elephant in this room of discussion is the Avengers. Until THAT film hit pay-dirt, Warner Bros. was ambiguous (at best) about the DC license. Afterwards, everything hit the fast track.

Warner Bros. wants Avengers money. THAT is the standard. THAT is the prize. And THAT is what woke them from their business slumber regarding the profit potential for this license. They've seen it work with indisputable results, so they want a piece of the action. The problem is, and continues to be, a lack of vision. Right now they appear to be throwing allot against the wall to see what sticks. In the mean time, Marvel is building upon it's momentum as each hero from the Avengers storyline rewards those individual films with an uptick in business with each subsequent sequel. In short, Marvel is focused on story and the public is rewarding them with revenue for more. Marvel Studios owns this business model and no studio is going to match it.

So why does Warner Bros. feel the need to go head to head with a Marvel sequel that will likely not only have the advantage of following the highly successful and critically acclaimed Winter Soldier, but also feed off the next Avenger's film? How do they come out on top in this scenario when they haven't reached a high mark with no competition on the table? The answer is they won't. Snyder has not proven he can make a film appealing to critics or mass audiences, so if Marvel's recent commercial and critical success is not a steep enough mountain to ascend, bad reviews could not only bury Batman vs Superman opening weekend but imperil the entire future of the franchise by taking on this ill advised publicity stunt.

Even if Snyder could make a picture that is satisfying to both critics and audiences, that still doesn't take a big enough bite out of audiences appetite for what has continued to work in the Marvel universe. So even if this film could give Cap 3 a run for it's money, ultimately asking fans to pick one over the other will diminish their returns. Warner Bros. is not in a position yet to go head to head with Marvel. Sure, these heroes have their fans, but movies and the general public are a whole other universe. Warner Bros. needs to build revenue, not generate more negative headlines. Marvel has the attention (and trust) of the general public in addition to the comic based fans. Warner Bros. is making a sequel to a film that was divisive amongst fans with modest returns based on the public reaction and corporate expectations. As a rule, they don't need any other challenges. Asking a skeptical consumer to choose between them and a consistent winner is, in my opinion, suicide.

[riddler]

I think perspective is everything when it comes to Man of Steel. Sure we can volley rationale for what constitutes 'success' in the financial arena. But what is undeniable is that more is expected from the subsequent sequel that is suppose to be the stepping stone for the crown jewel of the license, the Justice League. No matter how it's suggested, the 500 LB elephant in this room of discussion is the Avengers. Until THAT film hit pay-dirt, Warner Bros. was ambiguous (at best) about the DC license. Afterwards, everything hit the fast track.

Warner Bros. wants Avengers money. THAT is the standard. THAT is the prize. And THAT is what woke them from their business slumber regarding the profit potential for this license. They've seen it work with indisputable results, so they want a piece of the action. The problem is, and continues to be, a lack of vision. Right now they appear to be throwing allot against the wall to see what sticks. In the mean time, Marvel is building upon it's momentum as each hero from the Avengers storyline rewards those individual films with an uptick in business with each subsequent sequel. In short, Marvel is focused on story and the public is rewarding them with revenue for more. Marvel Studios owns this business model and no studio is going to match it.

So why does Warner Bros. feel the need to go head to head with a Marvel sequel that will likely not only have the advantage of following the highly successful and critically acclaimed Winter Soldier, but also feed off the next Avenger's film? How do they come out on top in this scenario when they haven't reached a high mark with no competition on the table? The answer is they won't. Snyder has not proven he can make a film appealing to critics or mass audiences, so if Marvel's recent commercial and critical success is not a steep enough mountain to ascend, bad reviews could not only bury Batman vs Superman opening weekend but imperil the entire future of the franchise by taking on this ill advised publicity stunt.

Even if Snyder could make a picture that is satisfying to both critics and audiences, that still doesn't take a big enough bite out of audiences appetite for what has continued to work in the Marvel universe. So even if this film could give Cap 3 a run for it's money, ultimately asking fans to pick one over the other will diminish their returns. Warner Bros. is not in a position yet to go head to head with Marvel. Sure, these heroes have their fans, but movies and the general public are a whole other universe. Warner Bros. needs to build revenue, not generate more negative headlines. Marvel has the attention (and trust) of the general public in addition to the comic based fans. Warner Bros. is making a sequel to a film that was divisive amongst fans with modest returns based on the public reaction and corporate expectations. As a rule, they don't need any other challenges. Asking a skeptical consumer to choose between them and a consistent winner is, in my opinion, suicide.

Art is a medium littered with imitations but imitations rarely beat the original. Warner and DC can deny this all they want but does anyone honestly believe BvS would be happening by 2016 had there been no Avengers? I'm not saying it can't top it but people are kidding themselves if DC isn't envisioning Marvel success and as mention it is greed.

Now I definitely think DC has plenty of opportunities to better the MCU at the end of the day for a few reasons;
-initial hype. Prior to 2008, the 4 characters in the avengers combined for two theatrical releases and both were underwhelming (1990 captain america and 2003 Hulk). At the time you had to be a comic fan to know who iron man was. Everyone and their grandmother know who Batman and Superman are.
-one big advantage DC has over marvel is the movie rights of their characters are all owned by WB whereas marvel's are scattered throughout
-most people believe that in the comics DC has more star power (ie. their top 4 are better than Marvels top 4) but Marvel has far more depth. The depth advantage is kind of nullified in movies because great marvel comic arcs such as the Civil war, the secret wars etc. couldn't be adapted into films under 3 hours. It would be a logistical nightmare to try because the screentime per character would be low and most of them feature the heroes primarily in costume (something which would run up a movie budget and not work overly well). On the other hand it wold be much easier adapt epic JLA stories such as the injustice league, llashpoint, or blackest night into films.




Still the fact that Warner is choosing this release date wreaks of inferiority complex. While most of us here seem level headed enough to realize neither DC or Marvel are heavily ahead of the other, there are extremists on both sides who will boycott the other sides film just to diminish box office returns. And obviously even neutral folks like us will have to choose which one to go to on opening night. I'll wager more choose BvS but they're kidding themselves if they don't believe some will choose Cap.


Glad to see Marvel stand up for themselves and not adhere to the bully tactics. WB may just lose some box office returns to those who see what they did as that-bully tactics. I suspect this move will generate more boycotting, it's just a question of how much profit they lose. They'll obviously have to up their marketing budget to offset it.

[Silver Nemesis]

Looks like DC/WB blinked:
http://www.thewrap.com/warner-bros-blinks-in-marvel-showdown-batman-v-superman-avoids-captain-america-3/

It'd be so funny if Disney/Marvel announced they were moving Cap 3 to the same date.