Would you be okay with smaller budgeted Batfamily movies?

[Vakanai]

So I went to Walmart yesterday to buy Batman vs the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but couldn't (apparently they lost them somewhere in the back room), so I bought a copy of the new Nancy Drew movie instead. Now obviously it isn't a superhero film, and obviously there are no action sequences, but honestly as I was watching it I thought "Hey, I wouldn't mind watching a Batgirl movie like this." Now obviously (again) this is a much cheaper movie than even the cheapest DCEU film (Shazam! I think?), and I barely even remember this being in theaters (was it? Apparently.), but it was a lot better than I was expecting it to be, Nancy was a better character in this than I thought she would be, and all around I thought it was a good, cheap movie. And I thought, if you made a more mystery focused instead of action focused Batgirl film, I could really see it working on this kind of smaller scale. It'd be a safer, faster way of getting some of these other characters out there, it could skew more kid and family friendly, and it'd give us something different than the CW style shows and the big budget movies. Now obviously because this movie starred a redhead girl my immediate thought was "Batgirl", but this could probably work for some other Batfamily characters too.

What do you think?

[Masterff]

So I went to Walmart yesterday to buy Batman vs the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but couldn't (apparently they lost them somewhere in the back room), so I bought a copy of the new Nancy Drew movie instead. Now obviously it isn't a superhero film, and obviously there are no action sequences, but honestly as I was watching it I thought "Hey, I wouldn't mind watching a Batgirl movie like this." Now obviously (again) this is a much cheaper movie than even the cheapest DCEU film (Shazam! I think?), and I barely even remember this being in theaters (was it? Apparently.), but it was a lot better than I was expecting it to be, Nancy was a better character in this than I thought she would be, and all around I thought it was a good, cheap movie. And I thought, if you made a more mystery focused instead of action focused Batgirl film, I could really see it working on this kind of smaller scale. It'd be a safer, faster way of getting some of these other characters out there, it could skew more kid and family friendly, and it'd give us something different than the CW style shows and the big budget movies. Now obviously because this movie starred a redhead girl my immediate thought was "Batgirl", but this could probably work for some other Batfamily characters too.

What do you think?

The cheapest DCEU Film will be JOKER...

I didnt look after the numbers, BUT I cant imagine that you need many Special Effects for the film...

I would be ok with that..because Arrow for example works well and a Nightwing Film could also work so...

[Vakanai]

The cheapest DCEU Film will be JOKER...

Will be, but we can't really judge how good it is for it's budget until it comes out, plus it's still probably cost a lot more than the recent Nancy Drew. Probably, I'm not going out of my way to look at actual numbers, but it's probably a decent assumption.

I didnt look after the numbers, BUT I cant imagine that you need many Special Effects for the film...

I would be ok with that..because Arrow for example works well and a Nightwing Film could also work so...

Yeah. I imagine if they can do just fine action on a TV budget they could do the same for a much cheaper than normal superhero film.

[Aahz]

The budget of Joker is reported to be around 55 million USD, so around what they spend on the first Deadpool movie.

I think you could do Batfamily movies for that kind of Budget, even one that has some action.

[sunofdarkchild]

I think tv shows based on some of the characters would be a better idea. Like I think a Robin tv show based on the 90s Dixon series would be really good.

Though Batwoman might work better as a movie than what they're doing with the TV show. Batgirl could work. Other characters like Azrael or Cassandra Cain might be too obscure, but I wouldn't mind if they tried that.

[Masterff]

The budget of Joker is reported to be around 55 million USD, so around what they spend on the first Deadpool movie.

I think you could do Batfamily movies for that kind of Budget, even one that has some action.

Batman from Tim Burton is reported to have had a budget of 35 millions, but this is 30 years ago...

But like I said when you look at "The Flash" Series you see it could also work with less money...

[Masterff]

I think tv shows based on some of the characters would be a better idea. Like I think a Robin tv show based on the 90s Dixon series would be really good.

Though Batwoman might work better as a movie than what they're doing with the TV show. Batgirl could work. Other characters like Azrael or Cassandra Cain might be too obscure, but I wouldn't mind if they tried that.

Sorry, but if BATWOMAN works, Cassandra Cain would also work, because she has a history of Batgirl/Black Bat/Orphan....I would say it would be easier to make a Series with her, even it could be strange, because in Rebirth she cant talk...

[exile001]

There is no reason it couldn't work as TV or direct to Blue-Ray movies. As long as it doesn't look cheap or amateurish, fans wouldn't really have an issue.

There is still a stigma on full theatrical releases having lesser budgets, and you can tell on the big screen. However, Shape of Water proves that a well used budget can be a lot more effective than, say, John Carter's extremely high budget.

Gotham looks great, even the CW shows look decent, so the Batman universe in particular can look good on a much lower budget.

Of course, the issue is always going to be quality. The DC animated movies all look pretty spot on, while costing significantly less than a theatrical movie, but the writing and acting quality is all over the place. And once something works, a studio is always going to aim for a quantity over quality approach.

Whether I would watch or not is a moot point, as I try to watch, read, listen to and even ingest everything Batman (yes, I tried the crappy Bat-burgers).

I suppose the greater question is whether the mass audience would watch them. If they were made into TV events, or direct to Netflix, then probably. I doubt they'd sell well on a direct to home release, because there is no reason for an average viewer to pick them up.

[Vakanai]

Okay, I'm actually looking now, and for the life of me I can't find out the production cost for the new Nancy Drew. Anyone got a good site for this stuff?

The budget of Joker is reported to be around 55 million USD, so around what they spend on the first Deadpool movie.

I think you could do Batfamily movies for that kind of Budget, even one that has some action.

Still a bit more than what I'm suggesting here probably, but the first Deadpool looked amazing and was freaking fantastic, so you could make an incredible Nightwing, Batgirl, or Batwoman movie with that. Cheap enough you know they would be profitable, so you could really expand out the Batfamily with films like that without much commitment from the studios, which I feel is an issue. Probably the only way we'd get a Batgirl or Batwing or Signal movie.

[kjn]

The superhero movies have evolved into the big, bold, extra everything releases. One period we had musicals made like that, at other times war movies, or historicals, or some other genre. They are supposed to look expensive and over the top, and it's what the audience expects.

ETA: So it's not impossible to do low- or mid-budget Batfamily movies, but you're working against expectations at every level.

[Vakanai]

I think tv shows based on some of the characters would be a better idea. Like I think a Robin tv show based on the 90s Dixon series would be really good.

Though Batwoman might work better as a movie than what they're doing with the TV show. Batgirl could work. Other characters like Azrael or Cassandra Cain might be too obscure, but I wouldn't mind if they tried that.

Yeah, but there's already a ton of DC tv shows thanks to the CW and now the streaming service, so it'd feel like another show would just be crowded out. Plus I feel even the smaller movies get a larger audience than any Robin tv show ever could. So for getting more attention both by standing above a crowd of so-so shows and getting more eyeballs on it, you really can't beat a film. Plus I feel like that's a whole other discussion. Sometimes you just want to talk about opinions on what you'd like to see on film, not the debate over whether TV is better than Film today (hope that's not condescending, just tired of always reading a post about how a TV/HBO/Netflix series would be better in every movie thread ever these days).

[exile001]

Sorry, but if BATWOMAN works, Cassandra Cain would also work, because she has a history of Batgirl/Black Bat/Orphan....I would say it would be easier to make a Series with her, even it could be strange, because in Rebirth she cant talk...

Sorry, but there is no way Cassandra Cain works better than Batwoman as an outside property. Nobody outside of the DC Comics fanbase know who this character is, heck, I doubt too many outside the Batman fanbase know her.

She has no real hook and there are better characters who tick every box she does, with much simpler stories and a higher profile (both in comics and outside media, such as cartoons and live action TV shows). By your own point, she was Batgirl/Black Bat/Orphan, sometimes she can talk, sometimes she can't, this isn't an easy sell for a character a mainstream audience has never heard of.

Batwoman is a simple brand - female Batman. She has the additional hook of being a LGBTQ character.

Batgirl is going to be Barbara Gordon - Young, female Batman. Has the additional hook of being Commissioner Gordon's daughter.

These are simple concepts to sell.

I will add that Cassandra Cain is a main character in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), so she will be appearing in the wider universe.

[Vakanai]

Though Batwoman might work better as a movie than what they're doing with the TV show. Batgirl could work. Other characters like Azrael or Cassandra Cain might be too obscure, but I wouldn't mind if they tried that.

Can you do Azrael without Knightfall? I'm not as familiar with the character.

Sorry, but if BATWOMAN works, Cassandra Cain would also work, because she has a history of Batgirl/Black Bat/Orphan....I would say it would be easier to make a Series with her, even it could be strange, because in Rebirth she cant talk...

I think Logan kind of showed how Cas could kind of work with X-23.

There is no reason it couldn't work as TV or direct to Blue-Ray movies. As long as it doesn't look cheap or amateurish, fans wouldn't really have an issue.

I would LOVE if WB/DC tried to do a series of DTV live action movies. They do it in animation, but I feel there's a whole market of live action direct to Blu-rays they're missing out on.

There is still a stigma on full theatrical releases having lesser budgets, and you can tell on the big screen. However, Shape of Water proves that a well used budget can be a lot more effective than, say, John Carter's extremely high budget.

I think the stigma is only on if the special effects look cheap, but I could be wrong. I know they tend not to become blockbusters, but they also didn't have as big a marketing push either. Some of my favorite films have had lower budgets, like one of my favorites this decade was Mr. Holmes with Ian McKellan as Sherlock.

Any evidence to suggest there's a stigma on such movies beyond cheesy effects? (Not debating, genuinely curious.)

Gotham looks great, even the CW shows look decent, so the Batman universe in particular can look good on a much lower budget.

I stopped watching Gotham when Supergirl came on at the same timeslot, but I remember the city and sets did look really good.

Of course, the issue is always going to be quality. The DC animated movies all look pretty spot on, while costing significantly less than a theatrical movie, but the writing and acting quality is all over the place. And once something works, a studio is always going to aim for a quantity over quality approach.

Arguably the big budget pictures suffer from this too...

Whether I would watch or not is a moot point, as I try to watch, read, listen to and even ingest everything Batman (yes, I tried the crappy Bat-burgers).

...Bat-burgers?

I suppose the greater question is whether the mass audience would watch them. If they were made into TV events, or direct to Netflix, then probably. I doubt they'd sell well on a direct to home release, because there is no reason for an average viewer to pick them up.

I don't know, there's no reason for the average viewer to pick up any direct to home release, and yet those films still exist so there must be a market for them. As long as they don't cost any more to make than those, which seemingly make enough of a profit for them to continue getting made, I can only imagine the Bat brand would help make them sell and be more profitable than those.

The superhero movies have evolved into the big, bold, extra everything releases. One period we had musicals made like that, at other times war movies, or historicals, or some other genre. They are supposed to look expensive and over the top, and it's what the audience expects.

ETA: So it's not impossible to do low- or mid-budget Batfamily movies, but you're working against expectations at every level.

Yeah, but you also don't need them to succeed at that level either. If they get only a quarter of that audience, they'd still make a profit considering how much cheaper they were to make, plus I'm suggesting this as a way to introduce characters who aren't likely to ever be included in one of those big, bold, extra everything releases. Plus, such movies wouldn't be expected to be as strongly held in continuity, and would be seen by such fewer numbers the complaints would be minimal anyway, so you could still include a recast big name star in that role for a big budget movie later on. If lower budget movies can exist and be profitable in their niche, why can't superhero movies too?

[Vakanai]

She has no real hook and there are better characters who tick every box she does, with much simpler stories and a higher profile (both in comics and outside media, such as cartoons and live action TV shows). By your own point, she was Batgirl/Black Bat/Orphan, sometimes she can talk, sometimes she can't, this isn't an easy sell for a character a mainstream audience has never heard of.

I HATE the Orphan name. If she can't be Batgirl she should have remained as Black Bat, which at least still had Bat in the title and clued you in that she was part of the Batfamily. I don't understand why they made the name change.

[Aahz]

But like I said when you look at "The Flash" Series you see it could also work with less money...

I don't think that "The Flash" would that great on the big screen. But Gotham has imo pretty good visuals.

Btw. if the make the action more grounded like in Deadpool (more somthing in the direction the hallway fights in the Marvel Netflix series or the fighting scenes from "into the Badlands"), they can maybe get with the budget even lower an deliver still cool action.