Remember when Mike & Pam were on the hottest of hot seats? While the year started with multiple people loudly proclaiming their demise at Warner Bros., the studio continues to rattle off hits: Sinners, A Minecraft Movie, Final Destination: Bloodlines, F1 (which Warner Bros. distributed for Apple) and now Superman. The re-launch of DC Comics movies under Superman director James Gunn and executive Peter Safran was questioned, doubted and ridiculed in the months leading up to its release — and then, like those other Warner Bros. movies this year, it defied expectations.
Which makes one wonder: Does David Zaslav, who picked the talent (on the film side, at least), deserve the hits anymore? “Look, he’s shot himself in the foot a couple of times in a PR sense. His compensation package is another topic,” Sean McNulty admits. “But leaving all that aside, what did he do? He made a bet on Mike and Pam, and he made a bet on Gunn and Safran.”
Indeed, in its opening weekend, Superman showed up the doubters, flying to $122 million in North America and $217 million globally, just as Richard Rushfield predicted. “[Gunn] had a very specific story he wanted to tell, that was very relevant to this moment,” Richard explains, “and that is why I always thought this was going to do better than the idiots would say.”
Elsewhere in today’s Monday Morning Quarterbacks discussion: Would F1 have performed better in the U.S. if it were called Wheels of Fury? Will The Fantastic Four: First Steps keep the superhero momentum going in two weeks? And can Smurfs draw out the kids this weekend?
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