Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes Thinks WB Movies Will Drive Record Year in 2016
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Suicide Squad. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.That's [...]
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Suicide Squad. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
That's a lot to be excited about on the big screen this year from Warner Bros., and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes thinks it will lead "another record year" in 2016, he told Deutsche Bank Media, Internet, and Telecom Conference attendees Tuesday.. Their 450 hours of animated TV on Cartoon Network and Boomerang will "support product sales," and that's not counting the live-action TV they're making on The CW, FOX, CBS, NBC, and HBO.
He announced that pay channel now has "nearly 1 million subscribers" on the no-Cable-subscription-necessary HBO Now service and is confident in its future.
Of course, over in the video games category, WB will have a bit harder of a 2016 than it did a 2015, with Bewkes saying, "I don't know if we can do that [have a huge year] again." 2015 saw Batman: Arkham Knight, the final game in that trilogy, plus Mortal Kombat X, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, LEGO Jurassic World, and LEGO Dimensions all launch from the publisher. While 2015 has already seen the release of LEGO Marvel's Avengers and has new Dimensions content on the way, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a June release, is the only other major one confirmed on their docket in 2016. That's three LEGO games, and nothing else.
As of late last week, Batman v Superman, the first of WB's three high-profile tentpole releases, is tracking at around $140 million opening weekend.