Warner Bros. acknowledges the failure and financial impact of Joker 2

The group's management must now explain itself to shareholders and investors.

During a meeting with Wall Street investors, Warner Bros. executives Discovery have tried to reassure financiers, while the media and telecommunications giant has encountered some obstacles in recent times.

Particularly in theaters, where the performance of Joker 2 has “very disappointing and could weigh on the group's performance in the next quarter” would have confessed Warner Bros. Discoveryaccording to Variety. The group's video games division has also lost $100 million in recent months and managers now believe that it is necessary to focus more on major franchises and reduce the number of new releases.

“Inconsistency also remains a problem at our movie studio, as recently reinforced by disappointing results from Joker 2” analyzed the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, during this meeting.

Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday that its net income was $135 million, or 5 cents per share, down from last year ($417 million, or 17 cents per share). By comparison, smaller rival Fox Corp. posted net income of $827 million in the most recent quarter, boosted by political advertising related to the 2024 election on its local TV stations.

Joker: Folie à deux grossed just over $200 million in worldwide box office revenue. The production cost of the film – excluding promotion – would amount to between 180 and 200 million dollars. According to estimates, it would have taken $450 million in revenue for the film to be profitable.