Yahoo News David Zaslav: “We Have Lost a Lot of Money,” But Now It’s Time to Rebuild Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Discovery not only turned a corner to post a quarterly streaming profit on Friday, but its CEO David Zaslav told analysts during an earnings conference call that he is also excited about the improving outlook for the Hollywood giant’s venerable studio.
Discussing Warner Bros., Zaslav touted its 100th anniversary this year and emphasized that “this studio has historically been the crown jewel of the industry, and we are working hard to rebuild it to its former glory.” He touted “meaningful creative momentum, with more and more of the most talented storytellers in the business choosing to partner with us.”
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“After a very challenging year at the box office,” Zaslav touted such upcoming movie releases as Dune: Part Two, Barbie, Blue Beetle and The Flash. And he said that “we are committed not just to expanding the size of our film slate next year, but even more importantly, we are committed to making great, high-quality films that have an impact.” He reiterated his past comment that “it’s not about how much, it’s about how good.”
Warner Bros. had “two of the worst years,” but management is bullish on the studio’s rebuilding, Zaslav said later on the call. “We got James Gunn and Peter (Safran) working very hard on DC, which is going to be a very big growth driver for this company. We are very bullish on DC. The Superman script first draft is done. Gunn is on a mission from god. It is a really good moment to prove out on DC what we got and how strong it is globally for long-term sustainable growth.”
Continued the WBD CEO: “We got some more movies that are better; we have been working hard on fixing them and enhancing them and investing. We said no movie before its time. And with Barbie and Flash we have two very good movies. I think the slate coming up now will make a big difference. We have lost a lot of money in the motion picture business, and making that turn is important.”
Zaslav also said his team is focused on “reinvigorating our feature animation business,” mentioning the recent hiring of former DreamWorks Animation top executive Bill Damaschke who is “hard at work (with the studio leadership) developing a new slate.”
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