'Wonder Woman 1984' Swooping Into Homes and Theaters Christmas Day
By: rt-watson (WSJ)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
AT&T Inc.'s T -1.41% Warner Bros. said Wednesday it will debut its highly anticipated "Wonder Woman" sequel simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service on Christmas Day. The move responds to both the crisis facing the movie business due to Covid-19 and the company's desire to attract consumers to its new digital platform.
For weeks, Hollywood's biggest parlor game has been speculating about Warner Bros. plans for "Wonder Woman 1984." Major studios have largely canceled plans to release high-profile films in theaters in recent months.
Traditionally, studios don't release big-budget movies on streaming services until they have had a long run in theaters. But the pandemic has made theaters a tougher proposition and streaming an easier one.
Warner Bros. may still be smarting from its decision to release its last big movie—the science fiction thriller "Tenet"—in the U.S., where it performed poorly as the coronavirus kept people home and many big city theaters closed.
At the same time, streaming services have grown in popularity as more people consume entertainment at home during the pandemic. Putting the next "Wonder Woman" movie on HBO Max could give the new service a much-needed shot in the arm amid heightened competition. Walt Disney Co. took an even bigger swing at attracting new subscribers to its own streaming service when it exclusively released its $200 million "Mulan" remake on its Disney+ streaming service.
HBO Max is currently available in nearly 30 million pay-TV households. It also just reached an agreement with Amazon.com Inc. to stream the service through its various devices, which reach several million more consumers.
The service still trails Netflix Inc. and Disney+ in domestic subscribers, both of which have added millions of new subscribers recent months.
Warner Bros. said it had no plans to add a surcharge to HBO Max subscribers to watch "Wonder Woman 1984." WarnerMedia, the AT&T unit that is parent to both HBO Max and Warner Bros. may use the debut of "Wonder Woman" as bait to offer incentives for people to subscribe to the service, a person familiar with the matter said.
When Disney released "Mulan" on its service, it charged an additional $30 to view it. Disney hasn't said how many transactions "Mulan" generated. The studio has, however, chosen not to charge extra for the next high-profile release set to debut on Disney+, the upcoming Pixar movie "Soul," which will be available on Christmas Day.
Warner Bros. attempted to single-handedly revive the domestic theatrical industry in September, when it released the $200 million spy thriller "Tenet" in U.S. theaters despite multiplex closures in major coastal markets like New York City and Los Angeles. While the film scored respectable box-office returns abroad, grossing $297.4 million internationally, in North America it has limped to a paltry $56.3 million.
Outside the U.S., Warner Bros. is releasing "Wonder Woman 1984" on Dec. 16. The move provides a huge lifeline to international theater chains, according to Tim Richards, who runs the world's sixth-largest exhibitor, Vue International.
"If 'Wonder Woman' is released, we will reopen," Mr. Richards said on Wednesday before Warner Bros. made its announcement. Despite having reopened ahead of the release of "Tenet," the majority of Vue International's locations recently closed again as European governments issued a new round of lockdown measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures has also updated its distribution strategy to make some films available on premium online rental platforms, including Apple TV and Amazon's website, shortly after a theatrical release.
The studio recently struck agreements with leading theater chains AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Cinemark Holdings Inc. to make new films available online in as little as 2 ½ weeks after a movie premieres in theaters. Traditionally, theaters have been granted exclusive rights for about 2 ½ months.
With the agreements in place, Universal has committed to release more films to theaters than any other major studio, including the family film "The Croods: A New Age," which premieres over the Thanksgiving holiday.
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A sign that the pandemic nightmare is nearing an end?
I doubt that.
I have enjoyed watching Gal Gadot in previous movies. Hope to see this one eventually.
For me Lynda Carter will always be Wonder Woman, just like Richard Greene will always be Robin Hood.
Okay, I can understand your logic about Lynda Carter, but IMO Robin Hood will always be Errol Flynn, just like Sean Connery will always be James Bond.
Lynda Carter was quite the hottie back in the day. She still looks quite good for being in her late 60's.
Nah, Kevin Costner.
Lynda Carter updated - still a looker .
Kevin Costner? You're kidding - you may as well have suggested Morgan Freeman.
Indeed.
Ok, fine. Cary Elwes then. After all, unlike some Robin Hood's, he can speak with an English accent. Lol
LOL
I can accept Flynn, too. He was the movie Robin Hood in living color. Richard Greene was that star of the Brits TV series we had piped in to us here in America. He had that ever thoughtful look and the voice of a God! Only the Brits could come up with that!
I never saw the TV series.
Now I have some small thing to look forward to on Dec 25th.
I think movie theaters are on a slow path to oblivion, no matter what the effect of the pandemic. Too many of the people who can afford to go the movies a lot have really big and good screens in their homes. Those people who don't have big screen tv's and sound systems can't afford to pay the price for a night out at the movie theater.
Pre-covid some movies made over a billion in box office cash. I don't think the theater experience is going away in our lifetime. It's date night out for a lot of couples.
The first Wonder Woman movie is one of the few superhero films I really liked. Gal Gadot was fantastic.
Perhaps the first Wonder Woman movie you've seen, but as Vic pointed out, the first Wonder Woman movie starred Lynda Carter.