Laura Carollo
Research expert covering cinema and film
A new streaming giant has arrived on the scene. Warner Bros. Discovery emerged in April 2022 from the merger of Discovery Inc. and WarnerMedia, with activities ranging from movie, television, to comic books and cable. In 2023, the studio reached box office gold with “Barbie” and may have another hit on their hands with the forthcoming release of Mad Max prequel “Furiosa”, which opens 2024 summer movie season. On the streaming side, the platform Max is finally launching in Europe on May 22. How does the new entity fare within the media landscape?
Warner Bros. Discovery seems to have no interest in stopping the consolidation race. The company was reportedly holding talks of a mega-merger with Paramount, an union that has so far failed to bear fruit.
A new streaming competitor
While Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and networks divisions are successful, its expressed goal is to focus on its streaming business as a new revenue source to compete with other streaming giants. As a result, the number of subscribers of Warner Bros. Discovery increased by more than 20 million subscribers between the beginning of 2021 and the end of 2023. In 2023, the company’s Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) segment reported over 10 billion U.S. dollars in total, representing revenue growth of more than 39 percent year-on-year. The relaunched platform Max, which includes content from HBO and Discovery+ among others, is home to TV sensations such as “Succession.”A profitable merger
In 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery reported a total revenue of 41.32 billion U.S. dollars, a considerable increase in comparison to two years prior at only about 12 billion U.S. dollars. That same year, the company’s net loss amounted to three billion U.S. dollars, less than half than 2022 figures. While the main factor behind the profit loss recorded since 2020 was caused by the pandemic, Warner Bros. studios have since managed to turn the tide. International smash hit “Barbie”, which became 2023’s highest grossing movie with more than 1.4 billion U.S. dollars, drove the success at the box office for Warner Bros.Controversies
However, Warner Bros. Discovery seems to be having second thoughts about betting everything on the streaming market. In 2021, amid COVID-related restrictions, the company released all its films simultaneously on the late HBO Max and in theaters, in addition to commissioning streaming-only movies. As crowds returned to the cinema, new CEO David Zaslav announced a change of course in favor of theatrical releases and canceled the release of already-finished films. Projects such as “Batgirl” or more recently “Coyote Vs. Acme”, were shelved despite good test scores. While the former was not considered up to cinema standards, the latter is rumored to be scrapped for tax write-off reasons.Warner Bros. Discovery seems to have no interest in stopping the consolidation race. The company was reportedly holding talks of a mega-merger with Paramount, an union that has so far failed to bear fruit.
