One battle after another will lose 100 million dollars, so what?

Paul Thomas Anderson’s film won’t make money, but it’s not our money. And for Warner Bros. this bet can still be a winner.

130 million dollars. Since the announcement of the enormous budget ofOne battle after anotherthe debate is launched. How did Warner Bros. will she be able to break even with a Paul Thomas Anderson film that mixes action comedy and political satire, even with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead?

Three weeks after its release, we already know that it will never be profitable. One battle after another grossed $140 million at the worldwide box office, and according to Variety it should generate a loss of 100 million dollars at the end of its theatrical release.

If we add the $70 million allocated to marketing, the PTA cost Warner Bros. $200 million. However, as a studio recovers in the best case 50% of the revenue generated by a film, we quickly understand that the profitability threshold is unattainable. But who really believed thatOne battle after another could make 400 million at the box office?!?

This arthouse blockbuster is part of Warner Bros.’ global strategy. which had great success this year, notably with the film Minecraft ($1 billion for 150 million budget). The studio will be profitable in 2025, and it could therefore afford such a prestigious film, likely to attract critics and do well in the Oscar race.

In a response communicated to VarietyWarner Bros. also refutes these figures and asserts that “films released by the studio, including One battle after anotherhave been financially profitable in 2025, with more than 4 billion in revenue to date“.

We can technically speak of a commercial flop for One battle after anotherbut it is dangerous to thus qualify an artistic work whose quality cannot be quantified through its box office. Many cinema classics have been financial failures upon release, such as The Wild Horde, Blade Runner Or The sons of man. We must not confuse commercial and artistic failure.

And the figures ofOne battle after another there is nothing dishonorable about them. 140 million revenues for a free adaptation of Thomas Pynchon lasting almost 3 hours, rated “R” in the United States (forbidden to unaccompanied minors), it’s even a great performance. And by far the best score of Paul Thomas Anderson’s career, exploding his record of There Will be Blood (76 million).

In the current context, even a star like Leonardo DiCaprio cannot perform miracles at the box office. His previous film, Killers of the Flower Moonended his career at $155 million. With very rare exceptions, this is the ceiling today for this type of demanding film.

Movie fans are increasingly interested in the box office, and First we analyze them every week. But you have to know how to take a step back and not crucify a film or an author on the altar of figures under the pretext that the 7th art is also a business.

One battle after another will mark its era. It is also with this kind of bet that a studio writes its history. And we can only congratulate managers Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, who were in the hot seat a few months ago, for daring to take this gamble. It restores the image of Warner Bros., tarnished in particular by its pro-streaming policy which scared Christopher Nolan away from Universal.

If the film leaves with a few statuettes from the next Oscar ceremony next March, their bet will already be a winner.