Co-head of DC Studios, James Gunn, has revealed that he will not attend this year’s SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con). What does it mean for the upcoming DCEU releases?
Gunn’s absence at the SDCC 2023 says a lot about Warner Bros’ approach toward promoting Aquaman 2 and Blue Beetle. It means that these upcoming DC flicks may not receive huge marketing campaigns like The Flash and Black Adam from the studio. WB left no stone unturned in marketing The Flash and Black Adam before their theatrical releases. However, the studio’s efforts went in vain as these flicks bombed at the box office. The latest Ezra Miller starrer has collected over $245 million globally (still running in theatres) against a $200-220 million production budget.
Upon the release of these flicks, it became clear that fans do not care about promotional tactics, marketing campaigns, or early reactions. They only care about the quality of the movies, and their opinions play a crucial role in deciding a film’s fate at the box office.
However, Gunn’s absence at this year’s event may benefit Aquaman 2 and Blue Beetle. Instead of them giving them huge marketing campaigns, these flicks should be released on their own, keeping them away from the negativity of The Flash and Black Adam.
The success of Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 proved that the quality of a film and viewers’ positive word-of-mouth contributes significantly towards box office collections.
This scenario clouds the future of both films. Blue Beetle may emerge as a dark horse in terms of financial collection, given that James Gunn now considers the character the first official DCU superhero. A smaller, more contained film like Blue Beetle could attract viewers in theatres, especially those who have grown weary of large-scale multiversal projects. On the other hand, Jason Momoa’s charm and goodwill may save the film from being a box office disaster, despite Gunn’s absence from this year’s SDCC. Stay tuned for more updates.