In an announcement that rocked the cinematic world, Warner Bros. said it will release all of its films set for 2021 for at-home streaming at the same time they’re playing in theaters.
“No one wants films back on the big screen more than we do,” WarnerMedia Studios chief Ann Sarnoff told the Associated Press. “We know new content is the lifeblood of theatrical exhibition, but we have to balance this with the reality that most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021.”
The 17 films slated for release in 2021 will all stream on HBO Max. This development follows the decision to have this year’s release of Wonder Woman: 1984 on Christmas Day appear on HBO Max on the same day it will debut in theaters. Since HBO Max is only available in the United States, Warner Bros. films will receive a traditional theatrical debut in Europe.
A spokesperson confirmed that the films, including Dune, The Suicide Squad, King Richard, and Judas and the Black Messiah, will be available without an additional charge. Other services, such as Disney+, have offered new releases with a “Premier Access” fee, according to Business Insider.
As an industry that relies heavily on packing large numbers of people into a confined space, the movie industry has been one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. In October, Regal Cinemas announced that it was halting operations at all 536 theaters in the country. Several movies this year that were expected to be box office hits were either delayed or streamed digitally instead. Early in the pandemic, Universal Studios released Trolls World Tour to rent digitally the same day that it hit box offices, and other studios followed suit: Mulan, Antebellum, and Bill and Ted Face the Music all opted for in-home releases.
In 2019, nine of the top 10 box office hits grossed more than $1 billion, according to IMDb. The top earner, Avengers: Endgame, grossed nearly $2.8 billion. To date, the highest-grossing film for 2020 is the Chinese movie The Eight Hundred, at roughly $461 million.
Warner Bros.’s Tenet was expected to be a box-office hit this summer but brought in only $357 million, roughly the same amount that Disney’s live-action remake of Dumbo brought in last year, which earned 46% on the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate of reviews. (Tenet landed at 71%.)
“Our content is extremely valuable, unless it’s sitting on a shelf not being seen by anyone,” WarnerMedia executive Jason Kilar told the New York Times. “We believe this approach serves our fans, supports exhibitors and filmmakers, and enhances the HBO Max experience, creating value for all.”
AT&T’s WarnerMedia has continued to push the company to prioritize streaming services under Kilar’s direction, “aggressively [boosting] HBO Max, even if it comes at the expense of the theatrical marketplace,” according to the Associated Press.
