Background
In the late 1990s, following a series of box office disappointments and internal restructuring at Warner Bros., DC Entertainment found itself in a quiet but dangerous decline.
While characters like Batman had seen massive success earlier in the decade, the studio struggled to maintain consistency. Several stalled productions, failed reboots, and rising production costs left DC without a clear creative direction. Meanwhile, competitors began to surge.
After a string of underperforming projects and ballooning budgets—combined with executive shakeups—left Warner Bros. facing a difficult reality: they were looking at bankruptcy.
Finally, under mounting financial pressure and shareholder demands, Warner Bros. made a controversial decision:
They began selling off film rights to major DC characters.
Superman was picked up by Sony
Fox got Batman, Wonder Woman, Outsiders, Question and Teen Titans
New Line bought the rights to Atom
Universal acquired the rights to Martian Manhunter, and Jonah Hex.
Lionsgate got Swamp Thing
