Warner reorganizes DC moviemaking after Batman v Superman’s disappointing run

Following Batman v Superman’s critical flop in March, Warner Bros. has reorganized its handling of DC Universe films, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

That means Geoff Johns, the chief content officer for DC Entertainment, will pair with Warner Bros. executive vice president Jon Berg to run DC Films, a newly created division.

Additionally, executives won’t be overseeing a wide swath of movies but will instead administer franchises clustered around common themes. Where Johns and Berg will handle the superhero end of Warner’s business, Warner’s Courtenay Valenti will oversee the Lego and Harry Potter lines. Other executives will deal with family fare and science fiction.

THR says the reorganization is an attempt to emulate the success Disney and Marvel Studios have had with Marvel’s cinematic universe under Kevin Feige.

Batman v Superman is profitable, though it may not bring in the kind of dough Warner had been hoping for. The film has made about $870 million worldwide since premiering in March, $328 million of that domestically, against a budget of $250 million. It had a strong opening weekend at $166.1 million, setting a record for a traditionally light launch window.

But critics panned the movie roundly and the industry press has piled on since, noting DC’s struggles to build a cinematic platform that pulls in accolades as well as money, as rival Marvel has done for the past four years.

DC’s next movie is Suicide Squad, which figures to be an irreverent, comedic take on an antihero team-up story, with Jared Leto as The Joker, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and Will Smith as Deadshot highlighting the ensemble cast. Next up is Wonder Woman, in June 2017. A comprehensive list of all the upcoming comic-book movies can be seen here.