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In truth, it’s more likely that even if somebody signs up for Batgirl, they stick around for the other programming that they’re paying for… so streaming revenue gets intensely fuzzy very fast.Īnd remember, this entire exercise is just to see what it would take for a movie to lose $90 million. But, you know, good luck proving that was because of Batgirl. Or maybe just a million people subscribe and forget to cancel before the second billing cycle hits. Now, had they released the film exclusively on HBO Max, as they’d intended, at $15 a month (that they don’t have to split with theater chains) it would’ve taken 2 million new subscribers to hit that $30 million mark. Surely Batgirl could’ve kept up with Morbin’ Time in a race to be the biggest tax write-off. Meanwhile, 2022 also saw The Northman, a dense viking epic from indie auteur Robert Eggers, bring in 68 million worldwide – and that movie very much did not feature the return of Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne.īut even if Batgirl really was bad, it can’t be any worse than Morbius, and that pile managed to steal $160 million from the people of Earth by the time it finished its meme-fueled re-release. In short, WBD would have to spend $30 million and split $60 million earned from the box office just so they can lose 90 million dollars on Batgirl to be in the same position they are by just killing the movie now.įor context, this August Bullet Train made $65 million worldwide in its first four days. This means Batgirl actually needs to make $60 million at the box office to earn $30 million for the studio. They take a cut of ticket sales, which is usually about 50%. Movie theaters don’t exhibit films for free. Now you might be thinking, $30 million is nothing in box office numbers, and you’d be right. So really, all Batgirl needs to bring home from the theaters is 30 million bucks to offset its finishing and marking costs. So next we add another number gleaned from our conversations with our studio friends – about $20 million to market the film.Īdding those numbers to the $90 million already spent brings the total cost of Batgirl to $120 million.
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So, after speaking to the same studio sources, we feel safe in assuming it might cost another $10 million to complete the film.īut once you have a finished movie you gotta tell people about it slapping Batgirl on buses, billboards, TV ads, and YouTube pre-roll doesn’t come cheap. This could mean reshoots, more editing, more effects work, and more delivery costs for getting the movie in theaters. There are multiple reports that test screenings did not go well and VFX weren’t complete. Well, he says, pushing his glasses up his nose, let’s talk about what might’ve happened if they released the film in theaters instead of just on HBO Max.įirst thing is they’d have to finish it.
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But throwing away a nearly finished movie so you can lose 65 million bucks begs a further question… how else could WBD get the same $90 million loss on their taxes from Batgirl had they instead decided to finish and release the film? How to Find a $90 Million ‘L’
Discovery will pay Uncle Sam $25 million less just by pulling the plug on Batgirl.Įssentially, this means that WBD is losing $65 million instead of the whole 90 million production budget. Discovery keeps their corporate headquarters, also gets a cut of a company’s profits, and its corporate tax rate is 7.25%, or another $6.5 million. On top of that, New York State, where Warner Bros.
The federal corporate tax rate is 21%, so that means their tax bill will be reduced by 18.9 million bucks. Now, that doesn’t mean $90 million shows back up in WBD’s pocket. That’s 90 million bucks they won’t get taxed on. Discovery’s income on the year is reduced by that same amount. In simple-ish terms, a loss can be deducted from a company’s taxable income, so by claiming the money they’ve already spent on Batgirl as a loss, some $90 million by most reporting, Warner Bros. It’s hard to say for sure, but here’s what we came up with. Discovery is actually saving have kinda been all over the place. There’s been a fair bit of reporting on this, and we should say that estimates for what Warner Bros. But just in case, we talked to a handful of entertainment industry folks to help out with our napkin math, from senior-level executives down to production accountants from different studios. We’ve done our own taxes before, so if the IRS asks, we have a basic working knowledge of how this works.
One reason that’s been thrown out as a footnote in all the reporting around Batgirl’s cancellation is the tax incentive of reporting a loss.
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