After months of speculation, it was finally confirmed thatWonder Woman 1984will be coming to streaming on HBO Max in December this year, mere days after it’s theatrical release. The news was met with great joy by fans, even as industry analysts wondered how the decision will affect cinema halls in desperate need of new, exclusive blockbuster content. WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar published an article where he explained why a combined theatrical and VOD release forWonder Woman 1984is in the best interest of everyone.
“We believe this decision will bring several benefits. The first and most important benefit is to the fans in the form of unprecedented choice from day one. The second benefit is to the exhibitors, providing an eagerly anticipated movie at a much-needed time while they take precautions in their operations. Finally, we believe that our creative partners and ourselves will benefit from this decision, in the form of fan response both theatrically and viaHBO Maxin the U.S.”
While Kilar was eager to stress the new arrangement favors everyone, the truth isWonder Woman 1984will end up making significantly less money at thebox officeonce it becomes available online. But under the current circumstances, the only other option would have been to postpone the film’s release by several more months, and that would have led to even more costs accrued by WarnerMedia.
“I find it fascinating that we will be measuring the performance of this movie in an entirely new way. To use a line from The Wizard of Oz, we’re not in Kansas anymore. While we will pay attention to theatrical revenues, our expectations are clearly adjusted due to [the global emergency]. In parallel, we will be paying close attention to the numbers of families and fans diving into HBO Max, as we certainly anticipate that a portion of fans will choose to enjoy Wonder Woman 1984 that way on opening day and beyond. To provide a comparable, a little over four million fans in the U.S. enjoyed the first Wonder Woman movie on its opening day in 2017. Is it possible for that to happen again this Christmas with Wonder Woman 1984 between theaters and HBO Max?We are so excited to find out, doing everything in our power to provide the power of choice to fans.”
Directed and co-written by Patty Jenkins,Wonder Woman 1984features Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, and Natasha Rothwell. The filmarrives in theaters and HBO Max on December 25, while debuting theatrically in international markets starting on December 16. The film will be available for a month on HBO Max in the U.S. included at no additional cost.WarnerMedia.
