Justice League box office: Disastrous collections project up to $100M loss for Warner Bros

Warner Bros' woes refuse to die down. The disastrous opening weekend collections Justice League recorded was not the only monetary disappointment the studio is worried about. WB is also preparing to record jaw-dropping losses as the DCEU movie did not take off as projected.

It was earlier reported that Justice League was made with a budget of $300 million, including the reshoots after Joss Whedon was taken on board. The film was projected to earn $120-125 million over its opening weekend as it was outselling Wonder Woman's advance bookings.

However, the film earned a shocking $96 million, which is less than even Marvel's Iron Man.

Also Read: Justice League director's cut: Cinematographer supports DC fans' demand to release Zack Snyder version 

This vast difference in prediction and earned amount has got film analysts projecting that WB is on its way to see a massive $50-100 million loss this year.

According to a new Forbes report by former studio executive, producer, and film finance consultant Rob Cain, Warner Bros or DC Films' future may not be looking good.

He has given a detailed analysis in his report. Here are a few excerpts that are worth noting:

He points out that the rate at which Justice League is performing at the box office:

1. The final collection will stand at $235 million (domestically) and $400 million (internationally). The total could be somewhere close to $635 million worldwide, gross, making Justice League the lowest-grossing among the five DCEU releases so far.
2. Worldwide home entertainment, including subscription VOD and online sales, will earn another $170 million. Global TV revenues could stand at $100 million.
3. WB could earn an estimated $545 million in net revenue from the film, as against a $600 million estimated cost to make, market, and release Justice League.
4. While the losses calculated as of now are $50 million, the numbers could touch $100 million depending on factors like overhead costs, time to collect on residuals and actual marketing costs for the studio. But this is some solid estimate, pointing out how big a mess WB could be in.

Numbers aside, the Forbes article points out that even the creative future of the franchise could be in jeopardy as Justice League did not set the ideal platform for future DCEU movies – Aquaman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman 2 and Justice League 2.

But Cain talks not only about the failure of Justice League impacting the producing studio but also say it could put Marvel on the back-foot, forcing it to rethink going over $100 million in filmmaking budget. "It will also impact the way that studios look at and think about superhero pictures. It could even have a ripple effect on the upcoming Marvel movies," he writes.

While this could affect DC films' closest competitor Marvel, owned by Disney, Fox would be less worried. The studio's productions are moderately budgeted, helping it play safe at the box office.

Its recent projects Deadpool ($58 million) and Logan ($97 million) have been made below $100 and earned back huge returns on investment.