Batman v Superman release date change, to March 2016, is being dubbed a “bold move” by Warner Bros. president, a day after the unsurprising announcement. The studio decided that it wouldn’t interfere with Captain America 3 on May 6, 2016, after all and now there is a little bit of explanation as to why DC Entertainment decided to flinch.

It used to be that blockbusters were synonym with Summer, but that is not the case anymore and it couldn’t be more apparent than in the case of Batman v Superman’s date change. Warner Bros. is banking of the fact that a great movie will be popular and attract movie-goers no matter what time of the year it is.

Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of Warner Bros. international distribution is confident in what Zack Snyder will do with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:

“If you have a great film, people will come no matter when it’s dated. It’s a bold move, but we’re taking it because we think it’s such a great film.”

Kwan Vandenberg may be right, since traditionally big blockbusters have been released in the Summer months, including Man of Steel, Batman v Superman’s prequel, which was released to great fanfare on June 14, 2013 (it seems like ages ago). Warner Bros. is following in the footsteps of big box office success stories, Gravity (October) and The Lego Movie (February), both of which proved that the weather has nothing to do with people coming to the movie theaters.

The Warner Bros. executive was also pleased with the results Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had at San Diego Comic Con, where it was dubbed the most talked about film, to the surprise of Marvel fans, who are used to taking all the limelight. But Warner Bros. isn’t the only studio that has tested the waters releasing blockbusters outside of summer months, their rivals Marvel released Captain America: The Winter Soldier in April of 2014 very successfully.

On the other hand, what many expected to be big blockbusters The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Godzilla opened big, but suffered on their second weekend. This proves that an overcrowded market is not a good thing, no matter how big the production is and may support a stand alone date earlier in the year.

With the new March 25, 2016 date for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. will have access to school kids during Spring break and Easter holiday, a time which proved to be successful for films like The Hunger Games and Alice in Wonderland. We will see if the move pays off for the studio.

What do you think of the Batman v Superman date change?

[Image via Comic Bastards]