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| Porn Users Forum » Warner Brothers will be releasing its 2021 films on cable and theaters simultaneously |
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| 12-03-20 12:02pm - 1386 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Warner Brothers will be releasing its 2021 films on cable and theaters simultaneously Variety Dec 3, 2020 10:30am PT Warner Bros. to Debut Entire 2021 Film Slate, Including ‘Dune’ and ‘Matrix 4,’ Both on HBO Max and In Theaters By Rebecca Rubin, Matt Donnelly Dune YouTube Screenshot When Warner Bros. announced that “Wonder Woman 1984” would land on the streaming service HBO Max on Christmas, the same time it debuts in theaters, many expected it to be an isolated case in response to an unprecedented pandemic. Instead, the studio will deploy a similar release strategy for the next 12 months. In a surprising break from industry standards, Warner Bros.’ entire 2021 slate — a list of films that includes “The Matrix 4,” Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” remake, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical adaptation of “In the Heights,” “Sopranos” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark” and “The Suicide Squad” — will debut both on HBO Max and in theaters on their respective release dates. The shocking move to simultaneously release movies day-and-date underscores the crisis facing movie theaters and the rising importance of streaming services in the wake of a global health crisis that’s decimated the film exhibition community. Related Stories VIP Discovery+ Review: Yet Another ‘Plus’ Brand but With a Lot to Add Oscars Predictions: Best Sound – Can ‘Tenet’ and Warner Bros Be Able to Navigate This Season? Warner Bros.’ 2021 release slate also includes Denzel Washington’s thriller “The Little Things,” biographical drama “Judas and the Black Messiah,” a remake of “Tom and Jerry,” “Godzilla vs. Kong,” video game adaptation “Mortal Kombat,” “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” “Reminiscence,” James Wan’s “Malignant” and sports drama “King Richard.” In the short term, the move will inject some welcome buzz into HBO Max, a Netflix challenger that launched last spring without generating much sizzle. One of WarnerMedia’s key rivals, the Walt Disney Company has strengthened its share price because of its investment in streaming offerings such as Disney Plus even as its core theme parks and film businesses have cratered. WarnerMedia and its corporate parent AT&T are likely making the move with an eye towards pleasing Wall Street. Like “Wonder Woman 1984,” the films that Warner Bros. plans to release in 2021 will be available to HBO Max subscribers for 31 days. After the one-month mark, those movies will only play in theaters until they reach the traditional home entertainment frame. From there, people can rent through online platforms like Amazon, iTunes or Fandango. It’s unclear when the titles will return to HBO Max. WarnerMedia chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff referred to the model as a “unique one-year plan.” Executives at the company have stressed the initiative isn’t expected to continue into 2022 or beyond — it’s considered a temporary solution in response to the ongoing global heath crisis. “We’re living in unprecedented times which call for creative solutions, including this new initiative for the Warner Bros. Pictures Group,” Sarnoff said in a statement. “No one wants films back on the big screen more than we do. 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.” “With this unique one-year plan, we can support our partners in exhibition with a steady pipeline of world-class films, while also giving moviegoers who may not have access to theaters or aren’t quite ready to go back to the movies the chance to see our amazing 2021 films,” she continued. “We see it as a win-win for film lovers and exhibitors, and we’re extremely grateful to our filmmaking partners for working with us on this innovative response to these circumstances.” Variety reported earlier this week that Warners. was considering sending several films to HBO Max and theaters day-and-date. But the studio opted to move forward with the rest of its upcoming slate because the film landscape is getting rockier as the pandemic worsens and parts of the United States consider implementing new stay-at-home orders. The idea that people will return to the movies anytime soon is looking more distant as the pandemic nears the one-year mark. It’s also unclear what kind of distribution footprint will await studios on the other end of the pandemic. More than 60% of U.S. theaters have closed down again, and that number could continue to rise if cases continue to spike around the holidays. Those that remain open are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. As a sign of these troubles, just hours before Warner Bros. disclosed its plans, AMC announced that it was selling up to 200 million shares of stock in an effort to raise as much as $834 million and shore up its liquidity. To get theaters on board and allow Warners to break the theatrical contract for “Wonder Woman 1984,” the studio is giving cinemas a more generous cut of ticket sales. Theater chains are receiving as much of 60% of revenues. But sources say that won’t be the case for upcoming releases. Thursday’s announcement from Warner Bros. is yet another example of just how dramatically the coronavirus crisis has shifted the power dynamic between studios and theater operators. Even with effective vaccines starting to be approved, the latest move by Warner Bros. suggests the balance may never return in favor of exhibitors. Months ago, Universal Pictures took an axe to the theatrical window — industry parlance for the amount of time a new release plays exclusively in theaters. But in comparison, Universal’s terms of agreement with movie theater chains AMC and Cinemark make them look like downright martyrs. Under those pacts, the studio can put new movies on premium video-on-demand platforms in as little as 17 days. Films that generate at least $50 million in opening weekend ticket sales, however, will have to play exclusively in theaters for 31 days, or five full weekends. Traditionally, new releases remain on the big screen for 75 to 90 days before they move to digital platforms for a $19.99 rental fee. Universal has agreed to give the two circuits a cut of digital sales to get them to play ball. It’s not clear if theaters will receive any benefits from Warner Bros. Warner Bros., perhaps more than any of its rivals, knows how unforgiving the theatrical market can be amid a pandemic. When the studio released Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” in September in an attempt to revive a nationwide return to moviegoing, the $200 million-budgeted sci-fi epic mostly fell flat. “Tenet” generated substantial ticket sales overseas, but returns were lackluster in the United States. As a result, the movie is expected to lose many millions. In an interview with Variety, studio chief Toby Emmerich said the hybrid plan came about after exploring various options for “Wonder Woman 1984.” The international box office has significantly rebounded and even fielded some big hits in China and Japan. Alternatively, the domestic market hasn’t seen any movie come close to blockbuster levels in terms of ticket sales. HBO Max is only available in the U.S. “We thought it could be a win-win and give the consumers the best choice,” he said. “Unfortunately, the U.S. has been one of the most hobbled markets in terms of theatrical. Outside the U.S., in places like China, South Korea, Japan, parts of Western Europe, our films will only be available in theaters. We think those markets can perform better.” “After considering all available options and the projected state of moviegoing throughout 2021, we came to the conclusion that this was the best way for WarnerMedia’s motion picture business to navigate the next 12 months,” said WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. “More importantly, we are planning to bring consumers 17 remarkable movies throughout the year, giving them the choice and the power to decide how they want to enjoy these films. Our content is extremely valuable, unless it’s sitting on a shelf not being seen by anyone. We believe this approach serves our fans, supports exhibitors and filmmakers, and enhances the HBO Max experience, creating value for all.” | |
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| 12-04-20 12:31am - 1386 days | #2 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Warner Bros strikes huge blow to movie theaters, will send all its 2021 movies simultaneously to HBO Max Yahoo Finance Daniel Roberts December 3, 2020, 11:27 AM AT&T-owned WarnerMedia shook up Hollywood when it announced on Thursday that it will release all of its 2021 Warner Bros. films to its HBO Max streaming platform at the same time the movies hit theaters. The news sent shares of AMC (AMC) down 14%, Cinemark (CNK) down 17%, and IMAX (IMAX) down 7%. After one month of streaming on HBO Max, the films will leave the platform and continue to play in theaters, the company said, calling the plan a “unique, consumer-focused distribution model” and a “strategic response to the impact of the ongoing global pandemic.” Yahoo Finance industry sources say the move was driven by Jason Kilar, the founder and former CEO of Hulu, who became CEO of WarnerMedia in May and quickly initiated an executive shakeup. The experiment will begin with “Wonder Woman 1984,” which WarnerMedia had previously announced will hit HBO Max and U.S. movie theaters simultaneously on Dec. 25. The 2021 Warner Bros. lineup has 17 movies, including “Dune,” “Matrix 4,” “In The Heights,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” and the “Sopranos” prequel film “The Many Saints of Newark.” WarnerMedia’s move is an effort to boost subscriptions to HBO Max, which launched in May, but it is also the latest pandemic-prompted salvo by film studios and content creators against the traditional “theatrical window” theaters enjoyed. A survey last month by Yahoo Finance and Harris Poll found that 81% of Americans have not gone to a movie theater since before March, even if theaters have reopened in their area. 56% of respondents said they are concerned about getting COVID-19, while 20% said they fear theaters are not being cleaned well enough, and 12% said they don’t want to wear a mask while watching the movie. But another 22% said there was no movie they wanted to go see, and 19% said they’d rather stream movies at home. Early on in the pandemic, Universal made waves when it put “Trolls World Tour” straight to digital rental for a $20 fee. Universal made more from rentals in three weeks than the first Trolls movie made in theaters in five months. Movie theater chains were furious. Since then, Disney followed suit in September by pushing “Mulan” straight to Disney+ for a $30 digital purchase fee (with limited success) and delayed three Marvel movies deep into 2021, while Warner Bros. delayed “Wonder Woman 1984” for a third time, both studios signaling that they do not see moviegoers returning to theaters in large numbers for a long time, even though theaters have been permitted to reopen in most of the U.S. As COVID-19 cases have continued, the situation for AMC and other chains like Cinemark is dire, and WarnerMedia’s latest move makes the outlook worse. — Daniel Roberts is an editor-at-large at Yahoo Finance and closely covers the streaming wars. | |
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| 12-04-20 01:01am - 1386 days | #3 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Variety Dec 3, 2020 10:57am PT HBO Max Ends Free Trial Offer Ahead of ‘Wonder Woman 1984,’ Warner Bros. 2021 Film Slate Premieres WarnerMedia launches 22% discount on streaming service for six-month prepaid price WarnerMedia has terminated its seven-day free trial offer for HBO Max — a move coming three weeks before the streaming service is set to premiere “Wonder Woman 1984” day-and-date with theatrical release. In addition to the Dec. 25 debut of “Wonder Woman 1984,” starring Gal Gadot in the title role, on HBO Max and in theaters, Warner Bros. just announced that its entire 2021 film slate will be released simultaneously on HBO Max and theatrically. WarnerMedia had offered the free trial period since HBO Max launched in May 2020. But it killed that off so it can boost its base of paying subscribers by leveraging the “WW84″ tentpole event and next year’s day-and-date film releases from Warner Bros. Those are expected to include “The Matrix 4,” Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” remake, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s adaptation of “In the Heights,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and “The Many Saints of Newark” (a prequel to HBO’s “Sopranos”). At the same time, WarnerMedia has introduced a new special HBO Max deal: It’s offering a 22% discount to new subscribers who prepay for six months at $69.99 (about $11.66 per month, versus the regular $14.99 monthly price). The six-month special price is available from Dec. 3, 2020, through Jan. 15, 2021, available to new and returning HBO Max subscribers. “We frequently update and iterate our offers to provide flexible ways for potential subscribers to access all that HBO Max has to offer,” a WarnerMedia rep said in a statement. In June, Disney Plus similarly killed off its seven-day free trial promo just ahead of the July 3 premiere of the movie of musical “Hamilton” on the streamer. And in the U.S., Netflix this fall ended its longstanding 30-day free trial period for new subscribers as it tries out different promotional strategies, including making the service free in a market over one weekend. For now, HBO Max is still unavailable on the Roku platform, which had about 46 million active accounts at the end of September. Industry sources speculate that WarnerMedia’s move to release “Wonder Woman 1984” and Warner Bros.’ 2021 titles day-and-date on HBO Max are part of trying to gain leverage in deal discussions with Roku. Last month, WarnerMedia clinched a deal with Amazon to bring HBO Max to Fire TV and Fire tablet customers; it’s possible that the “Wonder Woman 1984” decision played a part in that. In a concession, Amazon agreed to discontinue offering the legacy HBO service through Prime Video Channels as of next year, as first reported by CNBC. Apple similarly pulled HBO from its channel store when it signed on to distribute HBO Max. Roku currently offers the legacy HBO service through the Roku Channel; like Amazon, Roku has wanted to retain the ability to sell HBO as a “channel” to maintain direct customer relationships instead of distributing the HBO Max app. In the absence of a deal, Roku users on recent-model 4K devices can now use Apple AirPlay 2 to cast from the HBO Max app to their Roku players. As of the end of the third quarter, WarnerMedia said 28.7 million customers were eligible to get HBO Max. The Amazon deal should immediately boost that number to at least 33 million, given that Amazon has said it had nearly 5 million HBO subscribers through Prime Video Channels. | |
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