Warner Bros. will likely spend over $1 billion on marketing this year’s DC films like ‘The Flash’ and has little to show for it so far

A recent report has sounded the alarm for Warner Bros. Following the failure of The Flash at the box office, numerous people have attempted to calculate the financial loss the company will have taken by the end of its run, and it’s not looking so good for the company.

Variety recently released a look into the company’s financials this year, and the results had one industry veteran calling DC’s newest film “an unmitigated disaster.” See, The Flash is reported to have had a $200 million budget, a figure which ballooned in large part to the various setbacks that have plagued the film’s production. According to one of the unnamed sources in the article, The Flash therefore should have opened at about $125 million domestically. Currently? It’s hauled in $61.2 million domestically.

This look into The Flash‘s finances isn’t the only devastating blow towards Warner Bros. Four films are scheduled for release this year: Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom. Box office experts estimate that Warner Bros. has currently spent somewhere between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion on marketing and the production budgets of those four films.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods came and went back in March with nary a splash at the box office. The next two films on DC’s docket this year are also facing difficult box office hauls because they’re releasing before Superman: Legacy will supposedly reset the DCU.

Or, at least, that’s what fans assume will happen. Gunn has implied that some characters will make the jump to his new iteration of the universe. The Peacemaker cast is for sure going to make the jump – and it’s been rumored that Ezra Miller will be staying on as the Scarlet Speedster, despite their numerous controversies. Blue Beetle‘s box office performance will probably dictate whether or not Xolo Maridueña continues onwards and upwards as the superhero, but Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom is likely to be Jason Momoa’s final outing as the character (he’s rumored to be eyed for the role of Lobo moving forward).

But again, that’s a maybe. Fans are unsure about what films will actually matter for DC’s overall narrative, and have also been on the lookout for a quality film. So far, they’ve been disappointed. If DC’s films don’t pick up the slack, it’s going to be a devastating financial year for Warner Bros, and that could endanger all of their future plans for DC Studios.

Perhaps it’s time to clarify who will be coming back, and who won’t. At this point, a mostly clean break might be what’s needed. Maybe it’s okay for characters like Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and Maridueña’s Jaime Reyes to continue forward – they hardly had anything to do with the old DCEU – but for the most part, DC needs to cut some of the chaff loose and figure out a strategy that works for them.