John Oliver Takes Shots at Own Company’s DC Superhero Movies on ‘Last Week Tonight’
On his HBO show "Last Week Tonight," John Oliver mocked the US Department of Justice's poor track record under Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche, before turning his mockery on his own corporate parent, Warner Bros., over its recent run of underperforming DC superhero films. The segment began with Oliver criticising the DOJ's handling of cases against figures including James Comey, Letitia James, Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, before pivoting to note that Warner Bros., which shares a parent company with HBO, has suffered a similarly poor run with its DC titles.
Oliver highlighted a string of DC films that underperformed, including "Birds of Prey," "The Flash," "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," "Black Adam" and "Supergirl." He singled out "Supergirl," which grossed just $126 million worldwide against a budget exceeding $170 million plus roughly $120 million in marketing, potentially costing the studio up to $100 million. The joke carried extra bite given Warner Bros. could soon be acquired by the pro-Trump Ellison family if Paramount Skydance's takeover proceeds.
- Oliver mocked DOJ's failed cases, then joked about his own studio's flop movies
- Cited "Supergirl" and other DC films as costly box-office failures
- Warner Bros. may soon be acquired by the pro-Trump Ellison family
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John Oliver's HBO show 'Last Week Tonight' regularly opens with a deep dive into a serious news topic, often US politics, before moving into other segments. Todd Blanche is the current US Attorney General, having previously worked as Donald Trump's personal defence lawyer; his department, the Department of Justice, has recently pursued several high-profile legal cases against Trump's political opponents, including James Comey, Letitia James and Adam Schiff, many of which have failed in court.
Warner Bros. is the media company that owns HBO, and it also produces DC superhero films such as 'Supergirl'. Several of these recent DC releases have performed poorly at the box office, making them a target for jokes even from shows made by the same parent company.
The story centres on a moment of self-aware comedy, where Oliver draws a comparison between the DOJ's unsuccessful legal actions and his own employer's struggling film division, highlighting the unusual position of a comedian criticising the very company that owns his platform.
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