7) The Bad Critical Buzz Is Deafening
It’s often debated as to how much impact contemporary professional movie critics actually have. There’s an argument now, in the age of the internet, that studios can bypass critics altogether by marketing their films straight to the source (eg: the viewer). That may account for why the Transformers movies continue to do so well, despite always getting trashed by film journalists. Other movies, however, like Batman V Superman, still can’t quite manage to escape bad critical buzz.
BvS, though still a financial success, was undoubtedly harmed by negative word of mouth, to the point that audiences are now turning on the DCEU and Warner Bros is re-thinking its entire strategy. Warcraft could suffer an even worse fate: the knives are out and already its reputation is poor, and the film is still a week away from US release. Like last year’s Fantastic Four, the general air of failure swirling around Warcraft alone could put paid to the idea of any sequels.