What They Say
Warner Bros sent shockwaves through the cinema business by announcing that it will release all of its 2021 films with a simultaneous launch on the HBO Max service in the US. The content will be available on other platforms one month after the US theatrical release. All films will be available in 4K Ultra HD and HDR on HBO Max.
Warner Bros. Pictures Group’s 2021 expected* release slate currently includes “The Little Things,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Tom & Jerry,” “Godzilla vs. Kong,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” “In The Heights,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Reminiscence,” “Malignant,” “Dune,” “The Many Saints of Newark,” “King Richard,” “Cry Macho” and “Matrix 4.”
As you can expect, the CEO of AMC Theatres, Adam Aron, criticised the decision and said that it had agreed a one movie deal on this basis for ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ which will be released in a few weeks ‘at the height of the pandemic’.
“Clearly, Warner Media intends to sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability of its movie studio division, and that of its production partners and filmmakers, to subsidise its HBO Max start up. As for AMC, we will do all in our power to ensure that Warner does not do so at our expense. We will aggressively pursue economic terms that preserve our business.”
What We Think
This is a significant blow to the cinema business, when it’s down. As we reported from our discussion with ViewSonic the other week, some consumers are buying projectors with the money that they are saving on going out to the movies. (LED Projectors are Feeding Greedy Eyes With TVs getting bigger, better and cheaper, and with the image quality of 4K HDR on a premium set being so compelling, the cinema business is going to have to evolve very rapidly to stay in business. While LED cinema has the technical potential to deliver a better experience than the home, it remains a very expensive proposition for cinema owners. (BR)
