Today Warner Bros. announced that all their 2021 movies including Dune, The Matrix 4, and The Suicide Squad, will release on HBO Max the same day they make their debut in theatres.
Warner Bros’ 2021 movies will release on HBO Max on the same day as the theater. After getting shut down in March because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, many theaters were reopened in late August and early September in the hope of backing up the business.
But things are going the way they were planned as Coronavirus is not ready to slow down. Recently released movies faced some commercial struggle, that forced studios to push their upcoming projects’ release date.
For a long time, Studios were hesitating to release their big-budget blockbusters on streaming platforms, but things were changed because of the pandemic. The live-action Mulan remake released on Disney+ as their first Premier Access title, and Wonder Woman 1984 will hit HBO Max on Christmas Day. Recently, there’s been talk of other WB movies going to HBO Max, including Godzilla vs. Kong and Tom & Jerry. As it turns out, the studio’s full lineup is going to streaming.
Warner Bros. Official Statement
Today, Warner Bros. made an announcement that all 17 WB’ movies planned to release in 2021 will also make their debut on HBO Max on the same day as theaters. All HBO subscribers can enjoy these movies without any additional costs.
This step has broken the traditional model of movie release as Warner Bros. is not convinced that multiplex is going to give them that business that they expected. Medical experts have clearly said that theaters won’t be safe until a year after the Covid-19 vaccine is distributed. Studios are trying to adjust to the new normal, trying to find a new way to release their upcoming projects.
This decision of Warner Bros. is going to be very beneficial for HBO Max as this boom of top tier content will attract a lot of new subscribers, which will give them a better business than other streaming services.
It will interesting to see what kind of profit this new move is going to deliver. It seems like Disney is also going to do the same with their upcoming 2021 projects like Black Widow, Eternals, and more. Except for rare hits like The Mandalorian and Hamilton, Disney+ doesn’t have much to offer in terms of appealing original content.
