When a new studio regime inherits an expensive and scandal-plagued movie, it’s probably best not to anoint it the second coming of Jesus Christ or The Dark Knight, right? Doesn’t matter if you personally loved it. Just keep the superlatives under control, in case the movie bombs and you need to blame the prior guys. (We tried our best, but we just couldn’t salvage this film, etcetera.) Easy.
In fact, in some ways, it’s almost better for the fresh leadership if the leftover films flop, thus proving the need for fresh leadership. Last thing you want is what happened at Paramount to Brian Robbins, who replaced the fired Jim Gianopulos in 2021, and watched as a string of Jim G greenlights became hits. It was only when Babylon imploded, in late 2022, that Robbins arguably became C.E.O.
