The Four Color Media Monitor

The sale, for all we know, might've been done out of spite by the incumbent WB management for what they perceived as business mogul David Ellison's favorable stand for Donald Trump. But now, as told in the following biased Forbes report, the unreliable Netflix may be on the brink of buying out WB's enterprises, and if so, they also get access to DC comics products in the process. Writer Rob Salkowitz sure is gushy about it:

Netflix acquired Warner Bros. – the studio behind James Gunn’s Superman – for $83 billion. It’s a smart move with some added super power given that, earlier this month, a copy of the historic first issue of the Superman comics sold for a record $9.1 million.

Netflix has the inside track on acquiring Warner Bros. Studios from Discovery, a trove of classic American IP that includes, among other things, DC Comics and its film, television, licensing and animation derivatives.

While the Netflix deal has a host of regulatory and other challenges to clear, it is not too early to start gaming out what the change in ownership could mean for the country’s oldest comic book publisher. DC’s latest cinematic universe, under the stewardship of James Gunn and Peter Safran, has barely uttered “up, up and away!” but is already showing promise, with Superman pulling a respectable $616 million this summer, good for #9 on the 2025 box office revenue charts.

Look how Salkowitz fluff-coats the box office results, this despite reports Gunn's Superman film wasn't the serious success they want all to believe it was. Of course, how could you truly expect somebody like Salkowitz to care about merit more than money?

But DC, with its thousands of trademarked characters and nearly 90 years of publishing history, has the most facets. Especially with Marvel suffering from a prolonged bout of cinema fatigue, DC represents the most extensive library of pop culture lore, with the greatest potential for further exploitation. If Netflix’s interest here is IP ownership rather than just production and distribution synergies, DC is probably contributing an outsized portion of the value of the deal.

Historically, Netflix has not shown much interest in the publishing side. It farms its own IP such as Stranger Things out to Dark Horse Comics, for example. But it probably doesn’t hurt that DC is riding a creative and commercial hot streak thanks to the success of its Absolute lineup, including the year’s breakout hit, Absolute Batman.

According to ICv2, which tracks developments in the comics and pop culture industry, DC’s market share is up nearly 10% from 2024, at nearly 30% of the comic store direct market, only 6% behind longtime rival Marvel. That’s as strong as DC has been in a generation, and the financial success has been accompanied by strong buzz among fans and collectors.

For a business-oriented magazine, their writer makes no effort any more than ICV2 to provide clear sales figures to prove DC's really worth buying for what it sells. And if they don't sell in millions, then it's farcical to lecture us like this. But the part about collectors...yes, that I understand, and it puts Salkowitz's sincerity in serious doubt. If he's never argued in favor of comics switching to paperback/hardcovers only, that's another minus to his record.

There is still a long road ahead for this deal to fall into place, especially if Paramount Skydance throws sand in the gears or the administration takes a dim view of an asset like CNN falling into potentially unfriendly hands.

But if it does work out, and Netflix sees how an IP factory like DC aligns with its longer term objectives, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship, in the words of a long-ago Warner Bros classic.

Sorry, but chances are this buyout could prove discouraging, especially considering Netflix lost subscribers over their PC production values. Even though some of WB's recent offerings most certainly have been as woke as can be, and with the way they've handled DC comics, why should we believe anything will change? In fact, why must we believe things will change for the better under Skydance's ownership? I remember when Isaac Perlmutter was in charge of Marvel movie production, and what good did even he do for the comics? Perhaps the most frustrating problem about the whole situation is that nobody's offering to buy away the publishing arms of DC/Marvel, considering the comics are what could use improvement, far more than the movies.

Here's what Daniel Greenfield at Front Page says about this looming purchase:

Netflix wants the Warners IPs and HBO which it will roll into the streaming monster, pull movies from theaters 5 minutes after they’re released and then stream them for its gated subscription platform. Considering that Netflix suffers from systemic wokeness on a scale above much of Hollywood, assume Batman will become a black trans man.

If this business deal goes through, sure, if they think they can get away with such an atrocity, they will enable something that awful.

Now, Breitbart's reporting that Paramount's launched a hostile takeover bid for WB. Even so, it would be foolish to assume that if they succeed, it would literally lead to an improved standing for DC. If the aforementioned Perlmutter did nothing to improve Marvel, why must we assume any particular Hollywooder will do the same for DC within an instant? What really matters is if Marvel/DC could be under a wholly separate ownership, not a conglomerate. Then there might be a better chance. And for now, that's not materializing.

Labels: animation, dc comics, licensed products, msm propaganda, politics, sales