Shelving Batgirl saved Warner Bros Discovery upwards of $20 million

It is likely Warner Bros.’ cancellation of Batgirl will earn them some enmity among audiences and creatives, but in the place Warner Bros. Deadline reports Discovery CEO David Zaslav is concerned about the bottom line, saving the company around $20 million.

Zaslav’s strategy is to reduce Warner Bros.’ debt by about $3 billion right away — a strategy Warner Bros. finds particularly important. Due to its massive leverage, Discovery is a risky company to invest in. Discover took on debt that was significantly higher than the company’s value in order to acquire Warner Bros. from AT&T.

The total amount of debt owed by Warner Bros. The Financial Times reports that Discovery is facing a $55 billion battle. The bottom line is that a $20 million tax write-down for Batgirl seems like peanuts, but it could be that Zaslav is cutting as aggressively as he can, figuring that every little bit counts.

There’s also a good chance that whatever other bad news is in store for DC fans, HBO Max subscribers, and beyond, will be announced soon. Many of the cuts were designed to take advantage of a tax loophole that expires this month, according to yesterday’s story. 

It is reported that Warner Bros. invested up to $90 million in the Batgirl film starring Michael Keaton as Batman, Leslie Grace as Batgirl, Brendan Fraser as Firefly, and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. But Discovery decided to cancel the production. Zaslav also benefits from the fact that AT&T’s ownership of Warner Bros.

was almost exclusively dedicated to building up the HBO Max app and brand during its ownership. Zaslav does not believe HBO Max exclusives are worth a lot of money and wants to limit spending on original movies to $30 million.

Before the movie was fully pulled, Zaslav reportedly considered opening Batgirl in theaters. In the end, neither will happen, although it’s unclear whether tax considerations are to blame, or whether a film made for television didn’t “scale up” well for theaters.

According to WBD, the Batgirl cancellation is part of a broader change in DC’s philosophy – something that has fans nervous about the Green Lantern series and movies like Blue Beetle and Zatanna.

Robert Poirrer

Robert Poirrer is a contributing author who covers Hollywood latest movie releases and web series for the MovieThop website. He has a decade of experience in writing movies based articles for numerous renowned media outlets. He is excellent at creating unique content based on emerging trends in a variety of categories especially entertainment, movies and lifestyle. When not writing articles you could find Robert enjoying mountain biking trips with his friends. He graduated in English Literature from North Carolina State University.