Green Lantern cost $300 million, WB acknowledges their marketing mistakes

Brad Sturdivant June 13th, 2011

This really isn’t “news”, but I came across this article in The New York Times about this weekend’s GREEN LANTERN and thought it had a few interesting tidbits in it. First, the author suggests that when everything is said and done, the film cost about $300 million to make and early numbers show the film is expected to open at $50 million (which I find a very generous estimate). That $300 million seems like a staggering number for a superhero character that doesn’t have the fanbase of a Spider-Man, Batman or Superman.

But the thing I really want to point out is this line by Warner Brothers marketing president Sue Kroll: “We went out a little too early. For me it was a very important lesson.” Personally, I’ve crushed the marketing campaign for being sloppy, inconsistent and overall poorly executed. In fact, everything we’ve posted about GREEN LANTERN has made mention of the film’s poor marketing campaign. So I want to congratulate/thank Ms. Kroll for having the gumption to come out and admit her mistake. She puts a positive spin on the campaign now, alluding to the notion that people are more excited about the film (which I disagree with), but it was a welcome admission nonetheless.

As for what will become of GREEN LANTERN, we will find out in a few short days. The Martin Campbell directed film stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard and Mark Strong. Watch the excellent Wondercon trailer below.

Ran Reynolds in Green Lantern