Warner Bros. will stream 2021 films
In the most seismic shift by a Hollywood studio yet during the pandemic, Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday announced that all of its 2021 film slate — including a new “Matrix” movie, “Godzilla vs. Kong” and the Lin-Manuel Miranda adaptation “In the Heights” — will stream on HBO Max as the films play in theaters.
Among myriad release plan changes wrought by the pandemic, no studio has so fully embraced streaming as a lifeline. But after disappointing domestic ticket sales for “Tenet,” and with the majority of U.S. theaters currently closed, the AT&Towned Warner Bros. will turn to a hybrid distribution model next year. Films will debut simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in the U.S. After one month, they’ll just play only in theaters.
The move follows Warner Bros.’ decision to put “Wonder Woman 1984” on HBO Max in December, along with the theatrical run. If that pivot sent shockwaves through the industry, Thursday’s announcement rattled Hollywood.
“Given the unprecedented time that we’re in, we needed a creative solution to address our fans, our filmmakers and our exhibitors, said Ann Sarnoff, chief executive of Warner-Media Studios, in an interview. “Big and bold is a necessity right now.”
Sarnoff called it a “temporary solution” and a “oneyear plan.” The studio said other options — releasing big-budget films solely in reduced capacity theaters or delaying films another year — weren’t appealing. Warner Bros.’ move amounts to an acknowledgement that any full rebound for theaters is still a year or more away.
“We’ve got to get people back in theaters at full capacity at some point. If you read the medical experts that’s going to take a while to work its way through the system,” said Sarnoff. “If we saw an end in sight to the pandemic, we might have a different strategy. But we don’t see that at this moment.”
HBO Max is only available in the U. S. Internationally, the studio’s 17 films planned for 2021 release will roll out only in theaters.
Warner Bros.’ 2021 slate includes many of the expected top movies of the year, including “Dune,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Tom & Jerry,” “The Conjuring: The Devil Make Me Do It,” “King Richard” and “Judas and the Black Messiah.”