Fox, the studio behind the X-Men film franchise, recognizes that this case has the potential to hurt the financial success of the movie. And now they're circling the wagons.
Bryan Singer had been scheduled to do a bunch of press in advance of the release of the movie. That included an appearance at Wondercon in California this past weekend. Fox had a sizable panel discussion to discuss their upcoming projects, and X-Men - Days of Future Past was slated to be a major component of the presentation which also included Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Bryan Singer was not only a no-show, but his name wasn't even mentioned. The Director of the film...NOT EVEN MENTIONED. You may want to let that sink in. Writer/producer Simon Kinberg stepped in to lead the panel, and the X-Men presentation was scaled back immensely, with most of the panel focus going to the new Planet of the Apes movie. Oh, and there were no questions allowed during the X-Men portion of the panel.
And it's not just Fox that's pulled back from Bryan Singer. Disney, which owns the ABC television network, is revamping the promos for a new show called Black Box, and they're pulling any mention of Singer from those as well.
Film is very much a director's medium. And a scandal like this will definitely follow a director and can financially hurt their films. As for the implications of what Singer is accused of? This isn't a case of someone over-indulging in booze or drugs. This isn't over a DWI with an embarrassing mugshot. This is about a sexual assault case involving a minor that could have led to significant criminal charges had it been dealt with in an appropriate timeframe. And these accusations have been leveled against the DIRECTOR of the film. The one filmmaker that is most responsible for this particular movie. All of the cast and crew have been paid. As for anyone else getting hurt by poor attendance for this movie? Those would be people who get points and backend money from the movie. Most studios are reluctant to give up that sort of interest in a project. But generally a producer/director would get points. Whether or not you want to see the movie is a judgement call you need to make for yourself.