Warner’s seismic strategy: Gravity-defying news from the U.S. overnight, where WarnerMedia announced that it’s going to dump its entire 2021 theatrical slate on HBO Max at the same time as the films screen in cinemas. That means movies including Matrix 4, Godzilla vs. Kong, Dune, and Denzel Washington’s The Little Things will be all be available to Americans from the comfort of their sofa. There were murmurs at rival studios that WarnerMedia was going to drop a bombshell in December — no one knew it would be this big. Here’s the full story.
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| Matrix 4 |
Pandemic plan: WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar told my colleague Anthony D’Alessandro that the company is “here for the long term” when it comes to backing cinema, but needs to indulge in some self-preservation in the short term. “We’re focused on getting through this pandemic like any business is, and we’re putting a lot of brain cells against what the right thing is to do to serve fans, and to serve partners, and to serve ourselves.”
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| Jason Kilar WarnerMedia CEO |
What it means internationally: Well, very little — for the moment. “What we announced today is just for the United States. So, we have not announced anything in terms of outside the United States other than these films will have a traditional release,” Kilar said. Warner showed it was committed to the global box office through Tenet, but amid continued uncertainty for cinemas, the company is exploring different release ideas before HBO Max goes global next year. For example, an early home entertainment window could be on the cards for Wonder Woman 1984 in the UK, though nothing is cast in stone.
By Deadline
