Only a few days have gone by since HBO Max and Warner Bros. broke the news that the latter’s entire 2021 movie lineup would be available at no added cost for streaming the same day the films hit theaters. That deal was facilitated due to HBO being owned by WarnerMedia, under the AT&T umbrella of course.
Since then the strategy has not been short of critics both from an artistic and business standpoint. For example, in the first camp acclaimed director Christopher Nolan completely condemned the deal, calling it a form of betrayal to the people involved in making the movies affected by it; at the same time, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar has seen skeptics simply doubt the move’s profitability.
Kilar is relatively new at WarnerMedia, only taking over this past May after then CEO John Stankey had announced he’d move on to be in charge of AT&T, so perhaps it’s not surprising to see Stankey rush to Kilar’s defense by arguing that "Anytime you’re going to change a model, it’s going to create a degree of noise." He paired that with HBO Max’s impressive growth in a relatively short period of time, a service currently sitting at 12.6 million subscribers.
For Stankey, the decision represents the best way to put out all the content Warner had had kept in store for a while due to the pandemic, while admitting circumstances are unlikely to change for the time being. He dubbed it a “transitional moment” that still allows theaters to cash in on the movies and also address the needs of consumers.
As the corporate conglomerate behind the HBO Max and Warner’ deal rallies behind Kilar, industry insiders remain observant of the consequences it will bring, with several sources quoted expressing their displeasure it’s sparked among Hollywood talent. On top of that, there are several parties whose revenue depends on the profits all these movies were supposed to generate, a matter that was only settled for Wonder Woman 1984.
WarnerMedia has been adamant to defend its position that all these upcoming films, including Wonder Woman 1984, are still getting a worldwide theatrical release, but that fails to acknowledge the large differences in key areas like piracy, exhibition windows and projected revenue for each, as well as the desires of the studios and talent invested in them.
Source: Variety