Days into his role as CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery David Zaslav gathered movie-studio executives and grilled them about a recent string of box-office flops, including “Cry Macho,” a Clint Eastwood neo-Western.
Warner Bros. executives conceded they had doubted the movie would turn a profit, people familiar with the meeting said. Why, Mr. Zaslav asked, was “Cry Macho” made if they had reservations? When they replied that Mr. Eastwood had given the studio many hits and never delivered a movie late or over budget, he answered: We don’t owe anyone any favors.
