Warner Bros. makes a massive change to their release schedule, moving seven films around, including five highly-anticipated DC films. After a rough 2020 and a controversial decision to release their entire 2021 slate in theaters and on HBO Max on the same date, Warner Bros. came rolling back into theaters with the release of The Batman, which grossed $134 million in its opening weekend. The future looked bright for Warner Bros. as Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is set for release on April 15, 2022, to cash in on the Easter weekend, and the studio had a number of films based on DC Comics set for release.
2022 was set to be a year of DC, as The Batman marked the first of five superhero films for the year. Two Dwayne Johnson-led films, DC League of Super-Pets and Black Adam, were set for the summer while two Justice League members, The Flash and Aquaman, would release films during the holiday season. Warner Bros. even released a special trailer highlighting their live-action films set for release in 2022, promising audiences these movies would be playing only in theaters this year. It appears, however, that trailer will likely be pulled as it is now out of date due to Warner Bros. altering their release schedule.
Warner Bros. kicked off the news by moving the release date for DC League of Super-Pets from May 20, 2022, to July 29, 2022, which was previously held by Black Adam, and that film was postponed to October 21, 2022. Then, Warner Bros. announced they were bumping up the release date of Shazam!: Fury of the Gods six months earlier from its original June 2, 2023 release date to December 16, 2022. Both The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which were originally set for release in 2022, were postponed to 2023, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arriving on March 17, 2023, and The Flash releasing on June 23, 2023. In non-DC news, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom taking Wonka's original release date, the film has been shifted to December 15, 2023, and The Meg 2: The Trench is set for release on August 4, 2023.
The massive release date shuffle means big changes for Warner Bros. and its competitor. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom moving out of December 16, 2022, into March 2023 moves it away from competing with Avatar 2, which opens on the same day, as both films are massive underwater spectacles. Shazam! Fury of the Gods releasing two months after Black Adam could indicate one will have an after-credit moment setting up the other and both films will be leading to a face-off between the two characters. The Flash release date is particularly interesting as the release date of June 23 is the exact same date 1989's Batman opened theaters and with the return of Keaton's Batman, the release date feels particularly fitting.
WB and DC's entire 2022 schedule has now shifted. Even though Shazam! Fury of the Gods fills the gap left by one of the films, now there are only four DC films set for 2022. 2023 will now see Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Flash, and the previously scheduled Blue Beetle hit theaters, and now likely Batgirl on HBO Max. Warner Bros.' release date changes could be a number of factors, from not wanting to overcrowd one year with DC films to wanting to avoid major competition from other films; however, it creates an entirely new release landscape that other studios will likely respond to in time.
Source: Warner Bros.