Warner bros. Projected to earn less from batman v superman than it did from man of st

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice may be poised to top the box office for the third weekend in a row, but financial analysts are reportedly less than bullish about how well it will ultimately do for its studio, Warner Bros.

According to Bloomberg, BvS may actually end up turning less of a profit -- not just what the movie made at the box office but what the studio actually takes home after costs and revenue from ancillaries are factored in -- for Warners than the Batman and Wonder Woman-less Man of Steel did:

"Batman v Superman, one of the most expensive films ever made, is on pace to produce a $278 million profit for Warner Bros. once home video, TV and merchandise proceeds are tallied, according to SNL Kagan analyst Wade Holden. That’s less than the estimated $300 million the studio earned from Man Of Steel. It’s also evidence that Warner Bros. has more work to do to make its DC Comics division the unbreakable superhero movie business it needs. ... To be as profitable as the lower-budget Man of Steel -- and some of the more successful Marvel films, which generate 44 percent net profit on average -- Batman v Superman would have to gross $1.15 billion worldwide."

Will BvS reach the billion-dollar milestone? It's not appearing likely to, according to the analysts Bloomberg interviewed. BvS's current domestic total is $270.5 million and $720.8 million total worldwide. Although it had the biggest opening of any DC movie, the Zack Snyder-directed superhero film also dropped a severe 69.1% in its second weekend.

For their part, Warner Bros. is putting on a positive face for the public, announcing two additional DC films this week to their motion picture slate though 2020 even as they are also reportedly reducing the number of movies they produce per year.