controversial decision to cancel releases for “Batgirl” and “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt.”“We’re not going to launch a movie until it’s ready,” Zaslav said on a a quarterly earnings call late Thursday. “We’re not going to launch a movie to make a quarter and we’re not going to put a movie out unless we believe in it.”Warner Bros.
Discovery, whose properties include HBO, CNN, Warner Bros., HGTV and TLC, shocked fans when it announced earlier this week it would scrap the already-completed “Batgirl,” starring “In the Heights” star Leslie Grace.
While cutting “Batgirl” and the animated sequel to 2020’s “Scoob!” will likely save the media giant a fortune in marketing costs and any back-end payouts, it rattled employees, who according to Puck News, call Zaslav “the butcher” behind closed doors.Since the $43 billion merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia closed, Zaslav has displayed a no-nonsense, budget-focused leadership style that has translated to more than a few rip-the-Band-Aid-off decisions.
Most notably: shortly after the merger closed, the CEO shuttered CNN’s month-old $300 million streaming service CNN+.On Thursday’s earnings call, Zaslav underscored the importance of smart financial decisions when it comes to big-ticket releases — “Batgirl” cost reportedly the company between $70 million and $90 million — and he pointed to the company’s DC superhero properties as central to the company’s broader strategy.“You look at Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman — these are brands that are known everywhere in the world,” the CEO said. “We have done a reset.
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