Warner Bros Takes another L

[D24OHA]

Awwww shit there's more ripples from the Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Matrix Resurrections lawsuit.

Spoiler: Synopsis of WBD and VR lawsuit

Basically VR sued Warner over Resurrections going direct to Max. VR refused to pay their share of financing the film amd were seeking a judgement basically putting them in the clear. VR claimed that by releasing Resurrections directly on Max while in theaters, WBD hindered the profitability of the movie. Basically they sabotaged the performance of the movie and knew that going into the deal since it was during Covid.

VR also disagreed with final budget WBD invoiced them.

($200 million production budget and $100 million marketing budget).

Per their derivative rights agreement, VR was on the hook for $107 million. The film only grossed $160 mil globally, (it flopped.)

VR alleges that WBD ran up the budget knowing all along that they were going to release direct to streaming. And by placing VR in a position to lose $107 Million, WBD wasn't acting in good faith. VR lost and was ordered to pay the original $107 Million and an additional $18 Mil in interest

As a result of the lawsuit, Village Roadshow (co-financier of the Matrix franchise) filed for bankruptcy. There was a bankruptcy auction for the company and its catalog of "derivative rights" in MAY.

*VR used to net $50 mill annually from it's main property's streaming rights alone. I didn't see revenue numbers from derivative rights. However VR had self-produced a lot of flops between 2018 and 2021. Ressurections was a very big flop that was mostly out of their control.

(Derivative Rights allows the owner of the rights to be financially involved in any tangential properties, sequels, prequels, alternative/ multi universes and etc, all the ways across tv, audio, and movies. It is separate from streaming IP rights).

Mfkn Warner reps tried to low-ball an offer for $18 mil. Alcon stepped in and offered $19.5 Mil.
( This was after Alcon already bought VR's IP rights for $420 mil)

Warner lost the auction.

Warner then files a petition to have a court hearing to object to the sale. That hearing was scheduled for October.

The DAY BEFORE the hearing, Warner tried to match the $19.5m offer, but Village Roadshow said they wanted $30m cash, plus an agreement of settlement on the $125M judgement Warner won against Village Roadshow.

(Basically WBD would be losing $155 million on paper. The $125 million was already a tax write l-off loss, but they'd own the derivative rights full out.)

AND WARNER SAID NO.

Now if Warner wants to make any more Matrix, Ocean's 11, Joker, Wonka, Lego Movie, Mad Max, I Am Legend, Edge of Tomorrow and many more properties, Warner has to return to the negotiation table with Alcon.

Practical Magic 2 may be the first negotiation. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are attached to the planned September 2026 release.
There was an Edge of Tomorrow series planned, but subsequently scrapped.

Spoiler: WBD and Alcon lawsuit history

WBD and Alcon have already had legal dealinga after Warner produced an AI generated image for the Tesla CyberTaxi demo that Alcon states looks too similar to their Blade Runner 2049 sequel with Ryan Gosling......

CyberTaxi demo image

BladeRunner images

This shit is deep and has some long $$$

Warner Bros. Forced Into Shotgun Wedding for ‘Matrix,’ ‘Practical Magic’ and ‘Ocean’s 11’ Sequels

A bankruptcy court awarded Alcon the derivative rights to Village Roadshow's film library after Warners' higher bid was rebuffed. The studio is considering an appeal.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Behind Warner Bros.’ $125 Million Arbitration Win Against Village Roadshow Over ‘Matrix Resurrections’

A bet-the-company lawsuit filed by Village Roadshow against the studio ultimately helped bankrupt the financier, which was found to have breached a series of deals over 'The Matrix' films.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Simply Sickenin']

The saddest thing about this lawsuit is that Matrix 4 was a piece of shit film that most certainly isn't worth all this trouble, headache, and grief.

It was a cash grab sequel that failed to grab any real money and now these lawsuits are just laying all WB dirty laundry in the streets.

They would have been better off just never producing the movie in the first place

 

[D24OHA]

The saddest thing about this lawsuit is that Matrix 4 was a piece of shit film that most certainly isn't worth all this trouble, headache, and grief.

It was a cash grab sequel that failed to grab any real money and now these lawsuits are just laying all WB dirty laundry in the streets.

They would have been better off just never producing the movie in the first place

I mean there were so many damn stumbling points,

But I think VR was right. WB didn't act in good faith, they knew they were releasing on Max very close to if not same week as the theatrical release from the beginning.

The budget was waaaay too big, production and advertising.

Damn it mayne and that shit was terrible!

Waiting 3 more years might have been the better move. Cuz their cash grab turned into a tax write off and now a shotgun wedding of sorts with a new company that they already have a troubled relationship with.