At the start of the year, the knives were out for Warner Bros. chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy. Appointed by WBD boss David Zaslav, the duo’s early slate of auteur-driven, big-budget gambles seemed destined for failure. The first wave—“Joker: Folie à Deux,” “Mickey 17,” and “Alto Knights”—was nothing short of a bloodbath at the box office.
And then, seemingly overnight, everything flipped. By April, Warners pulled off one of the most dramatic reversals in recent studio history. Suddenly, the risks were paying off.
“A Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners,” “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” “F1,” “Superman,” “Weapons,” and now “The Conjuring: Last Rites” have all delivered massive returns, propelling Warners to the top of both the domestic and global charts.
With just one release left in 2025—“One Battle After Another,” which early press are already calling a “best of the year” contender, but will struggle to hit the $40M opening mark, the studio is still riding an unprecedented hot streak.
Variety now reports on the profit margins. “Superman” leads the pack with an estimated $125M in theatrical profits, followed by “Final Destination: Bloodlines” ($75M), “Weapons” ($65M and climbing), and “Sinners” ($60M). “F1,” a distribution-only play with Apple, nets around $34M. As for “Minecraft,” which grossed $957M worldwide insiders believe it may actually be the biggest earner of them all, though official figures haven’t been revealed.
Sources say Warners has already amassed roughly $600M in theatrical profits this year, even before counting The Conjuring: Last Rites. Disputed numbers or not, the bottom line is clear: the studio is having its best run in years.
Safe to say, David Zaslav is finally smiling.
Coppola lost more than $100M on "Megalopolis," got hammered for it, and he knows the clock is running out for one more film. If "Glimpses of the Moon" is that film, someone needs to write the check soon.