Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is taking big quarterly hits, the company reporting a net loss of $1.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) of $2.6 billion.
The company gave the following figures compared to analysts’ estimates, according to a CNBC report:
- Revenue: $10.7 billion vs. $10.78 billion expected
- Loss per share: 44 cents vs. earnings of 1 cent expected
WBD’s stock also fell as much as 5% in early trading after dropping nearly 4% on Thursday, CNBC notes.
News of the entertainment conglomerate’s financial losses come after it announced last month that the Warner Bros. Discovery’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team announced plans for a short film series that will transform some of the studio’s most famous films “through a diverse and inclusive lens” in celebration of its 100th anniversary.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to work with WBD’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team to expand opportunities for a broader range of talent to realize their dreams at Warner Bros.,” Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chairs and CEOs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy said. “We can’t think of a better way to celebrate this studio’s 100-year legacy than investing in the next generation of great storytellers, and we look forward to seeing these iconic movies through their eyes.”
Six filmmakers have reportedly been chosen to produce 20-minute, DEI-focused short film adaptations of classic WBS titles including A Star is Born, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Calamity Jane, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Prince and the Pauper, and Rebel Without a Cause.
“Looks like Warner Bros Discovery is going woke in a big way,” writes Matt McGloin for comicbook.news.
Emphasizing how entertainment projects with “woke” themes tend to turn away audiences, editor of HollywoodinToto.com Christian Toto reported in January how “[o]ne project, the Warner Bros. film ‘Batgirl’ featuring a race-swapped heroine, got canceled before its release date despite having completed much of its shoot.”
“The American public is increasingly aware of ‘woke’ Hollywood projects and often steers clear of them. The examples from 2022 include ‘Strange World,’ ‘Lightyear,’ ‘Bros’ and ‘Amsterdam,’” Toto added.
In July 2022, WDB announced in a tweet that it had hired Asif Sadiq as its Chief Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer.
The tweet included a picture of Sadiq and a quote from the new DEI officer saying, “Companies that get DE&I right are more successful and have deeper relationships with their employees, consumers and partners.”
Warner Bros. Discovery is owned by the infamous three financial asset managers Vanguard, State Street, and BlackRock, an official partner of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink has admitted to pushing his company’s own commitment to DEI onto the companies in which it owns shares.
“Behaviors are going to have to change, and this is one thing we are asking companies, you have to force behaviors and at BlackRock, we are forcing behaviors,” Fink has stated.
WBD’s losses come as beer brand Bud Light now shows a 21% drop in sales versus last year after partnering with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
According to The New York Post, the decline represents an acceleration from a 17% slide a week earlier and an initial weekly drop of 6%.
“Meanwhile, beer volumes — the number of cases sold, whether in packs of 12, 18 or 24 cans — dropped an even steeper 26% last week, versus a 21% drop a week earlier and an initial drop of 11%, according to the data,” The Post reports.
“That’s an indication that Bud Light’s core customers — who typically buy their beer in bulk — are ditching the brand.”
Boston Red Sox fans seemingly snubbed Bud Light vendors at Fenway Park on Wednesday, opting to purchase concessions at other stands as the beer brand remains embroiled in controversy over its partnership with transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney.
Fox News reported a viral video posted by TikTok user Luis Tejada showing a packed line of Boston Red Sox fans waiting to buy refreshments in “what appears to be the bleacher concourse section of Fenway Park while a nearby stand selling Bud Light beer cans is empty.”
The video boasted over 1.2 million views and generated 8,909 comments as of Thursday afternoon, Fox noted.
