Anyone who knows me knows I have been a passionate fan of Zack Snyder's DC films since the release of Man of Steel in 2013. The gorgeous cinematography, the humanization and relatability of Clark Kent/Superman along with that magnificent unforgettable score. There has yet to be a Comic Book Movie to hit me the same way this one had.

Unfortunately though, this movie was the start of the great DC fan divide of the 20-teens. Sure, there were fans of this movie, but there were also a plethora of people who harped on it due to Snyder and team taking a chance in doing something different with the character.

Hobo Superman - Ralph Garman

Let's get down to it though.

We didn't come here to discuss the magnificence of Man of Steel but rather the down fall of the DCEU and whether or not Zack Snyder's follow up film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, is the root cause of that destruction and despair.

We could easily get into the behind the scenes shenanigans that took place, but that isn't exactly the full reasoning on why things played out the way they did. This also isn't to say how the Studio treated Zack was right, because it wasn't.

I do hope though that this will start to clear things up, even if only a little bit, to understand why there was such a strong desire to shift away from Snyder's vision with the DCEU.

Man of Steel

Man of Steel, written by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer showed to be the most successful Superman film, from a box office standpoint, to date. Raking in just shy of $670 million and an additional $120 million in home sales.

Despite the not so stellar reviews by critics and fans, it seemed the studio, still reeling with joy from Nolan's Batman trilogy as well as seeing how much money could be made with a connected Superhero Universe of their own, believed they could push forward with Snyder and Nolan to capture some of that sweet Comic Book Movie Universe money.

With Man of Steel profiting roughly $150 million for the studio, you could see why they were optimistic at the time. Especially with the Comic Book Movie BOOM in full force.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

In 2016, just 2 months prior to Marvel's BIG versus event, Batman v Superman released with a resounding splat. Somehow this film would see far worse reviews than that of its predecessor.

You have to imagine that if the film touted any other heroes besides Batman and Superman the box office would have shown just how poorly received this movie actually was.

However, taking in a very respectable $872 million with an additional $82 million in home sales, this film did well enough at the box office that you have to imagine Warner Bros. would be happy about it. Right?..... right?

Not even a little.

WB was absolutely worried about the longevity of the brand and the success of what should easily be their biggest IP during this time. (The CBM genre boom)

In comparison, Marvel's latest film at this time, Captain America: Civil War earned $1.5 Billion at the box office earning them a rough net profit of around $344 million.

You can't sit there and confidently say that WB should ignore the fact that Superman and Batman, the two most recognizable heroes in the entire World, couldn't even match that of the latest Marvel film.

Okay, okay,

If you are a Snyder loyalist I can hear your anger boiling over as we speak. You want to claim that BvS was only the third film in the franchise while Civil War was the 13th film in the franchise.

With that you are not wrong. However, let's look at the first three Marvel films for comparison of the first three DCEU films then.

Budget, Box Office & Home Sales taken from The-Numbers.com

The only film to slightly outperform (profit & reception) a Marvel movie here is Suicide Squad. Which, oddly enough, much like BvS is riddled with terrible reviews and horrendous fan reception.

When you step back and take a look at the larger picture you see that the DCEU was never on the same level, financially or reception wise, as Marvel.

Even during the CBM boom of the 20-Teens.

Because of this WB felt they had to make a change and a drastic one at that.

We Were ROBBED!

So the Questions at Hand, were we robbed? Is Snyder's BvS the root cause of the DCEU fall?

Warner Bros. saw the writing on the wall.

Reception of DC films at this point were anything but positive. Those who did enjoy the movies were far and few between.

In my opinion, Zack appeared to be making an absolute banger of a story with these characters, but I also see many of the issues and faults that lie within those films he had created and released.

Any Snyder loyalist will unapologetically claim they were robbed from seeing Zack's completed arc. They will tout artistic injustice or unsavory behavior. At this point their passion appears to know no bounds and trying to convince them of anything else is but a fools errand.

Studio Meddling

Let's not act like the Studio didn't cause a lot of the issues they had though. I'd be remiss if I at least not mention that the constant meddling and interference affected the DCEU's success.

Prior to Snyder's departure the studio was considerably worried about the potential success, or likely failure, of 2017's Justice League movie. While all studios give input on all films being made, especially big tent-pole ones, things seemed more personal here as the studio showed no confidence or trust in Snyder's approach.

Prior to Snyder's departure they hired Avengers Writer/Director Joss Whedon to come in and help re-write Justice League to spruce it up and make it fit more in line with what they wanted to see. Then after Snyder stepped away from the project Whedon was tasked to take over and reimagine the the movie. The result was anything but stellar.

DCEU's Demise

From that point on the DCEU was in complete disarray. Superman actor Henry Cavill and the studio could not come to terms on a new agreement. Ben Affleck (Batman) had bowed out of the role. And there was seemingly no direction for this franchise to go.

All in all the fall of the DCEU, while it began with poor fan reception in 2013, became far worse as time went on. From lack of vision to uninspired films, to even pandering to the woke left. WB was never able to find a footing, even under Snyder, to push forward and have a successful franchise.

In December of 2023 the final film in the DCEU era released in theaters. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

It earned a box office total of only $433 million while marking the end of a decade long of critically panned films, box office failures and divisive stories.

The Future

With Warner Bros. now rebranded as Warner Bros. Discovery and under new leadership they appear to be taking their DC I.P. more serious than ever before.

Hiring Peter Safran and James Gunn as Co-heads of the newly established DC Studios will see more stability and artistic freedom as they now focus on a multi year/multi project plan pushing DC into the future. Something that was sorely lacking since the release of Man of Steel in 2013.

And when we get down to it. after all that we have witnessed the last decade and seeing what is possible with the success Marvel saw during that same time. It's easy to see why the DCEU had to come to an end as a 'Bold new era of DC storytelling' is about to unfold.

"We Were ROBBED"... 🤔But Were We? | SnyderVerse