Movies - TV
Tim Burton's Batman Was A Potential Career-Killer For The Top Brass At Warner Bros.
By ERIN BRADY
It may seem strange now, but there was a time when superhero movies weren’t taken seriously. This perception began to change in 1989 when Tim Burton’s darkly comic take on “Batman” hit theaters, and while the film ultimately proved that superhero movies could appeal to an adult audience, higher-ups at Warner Bros. were bracing for its failure.
The 2016 book “Hit and Run,” reveals the behind-the-scenes tension on the set of the film. According to the book’s authors, “A make-or-break atmosphere prevailed at Warner before Batman’s opening, where there were rumors that executives’ heads would roll if the movie was a box-office disappointment.”
This was in a large part because the film’s budget swelled from $30 million to $48 million, due to the expanding visions of the producers, which caused a lot of headaches for Tim Burton. Burton describes working on the film as “Torture. The worst period of my life,” but ultimately it paid off because the film passed the $100 million mark within ten days of opening.