Warner Bros. on Thursday, 3 December, announced that it would release its entire film slate for 2021 simultaneously in theatres and via the WarnerMedia streaming platform HBO Max. The news comes shortly after the studio announced its decision to release Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max alongside its theatrical run in December. As per the hybrid distribution model, films will stop streaming after a month but continue to play only in theatres, reported AP.
Dune, The Matrix 4, The Suicide Squad, In the Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Tom & Jerry, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, King Richard and Judas and the Black Messiah are among the titles expected to drop on the streaming platform. HBO Max is currently only available in the United States. Internationally, the studio's 2021 slate is expected to be released in theatres.
"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 WarnerMedia Studios, in an interview. She added that while the move was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a "temporary solution" and a "one-year plan". She added,
"We've got to get people back in theatres 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. 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."Ann Sarnoff, Chief Executive, WarnerMedia
After a month-long shutdown of the film industry in the US, WarnerMedia released Christopher Nolan's Tenet in September. However, the film saw poor box office returns in the country, which pushed the studio to reconsider its approach to the roll out of upcoming films.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)