With the announcement that all cinema films will be released simultaneously on the streaming service HBO Max in 2021, Warner surprised the industry – and his own filmmakers. Mainly because of “Dune” the dispute now seems to escalate further.
At the beginning of December 2020, Warner announced that all cinema releases in the USA in 2021 will also be available at the same time on the streaming service HBO Max. It is still not entirely clear what this means for most other countries in the world. There are only a few exceptions: For example, a Sky deal was concluded in Great Britain that provides for streaming only a few weeks after the cinema release.
In Germany, on the other hand – as of now – a classic theatrical release and later Pay TV evaluations on Sky are to be retained. The time interval between cinema and streaming is still open (the same applies to an alternative plan if the cinemas remain closed for longer).
With the announcement, Warner surprised the entire industry – including its own comrades-in-arms: the directors Christopher Nolan (“Tenet”) and Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”) publicly criticized harshly. One should also be particularly appalled at the film production company Legendary – and now even think about a lawsuit.
Your own partners are angry
Legendary was involved in the “Dark Knight” trilogy and the “Hangover” series, among others. The studio also regularly produces films for Warner – including “Godzilla Vs. Kong ”and“ Dune ”are two of the potentially biggest blockbusters in 2021 in the studio’s portfolio. Legendary carried around 75% of the production costs for both projects and therefore participates significantly in the cinema revenues.
But exactly these should break in with a parallel HBO Max start. If people can stream the movies at home at the same time, fewer will go to the movies. And the production company may not see a cent from the streaming income at HBO Max. Because there, customers take out a general subscription and don’t pay for a film. The income cannot be assigned to a specific film.
So the production company is pretty pissed off because they see themselves being robbed of a lot of money. It certainly didn’t help that Legendary was only informed of the Warner announcement shortly before the press announcement and was thus presented with a fait accompli.
Is the “Dune” franchise already dead?
With Legendary, there is still another cause for trouble. “Dune” was supposed to start a franchise. A second movie and a series were planned. Legendary would have made a lot of money with both, especially with the series. However, if the first film in the cinema doesn’t make enough, these plans are immediately history.
On the part of the production studio it is even said that the “Dune” franchise with the current streaming plans is already dead. Director Denis Villeneuve sees it similarly, who has already complained: “Warner Bros. may have just killed the ‘Dune’ franchise!”
Bargaining over “Godzilla Vs. Kong”
For many industry insiders it is clear that Warner now has to react. Since “Dune” is not due to open until autumn 2021 (current German theatrical release: September 30, 2021), when the corona situation has possibly improved, a relenting of the studio seems conceivable: “Dune” is coming exclusively to the cinemas – and Legendary in return, waives a lawsuit.
“Godzilla Vs. Kong “play a role. In return, Legendary could agree to the streaming start and not file a lawsuit aimed at an exclusive theatrical release. However, the production company may want to see money for it. After all, Netflix is said to have offered $ 250 million for the streaming rights to the Monster meeting.
At the time, Warner rejected the offer. But if Warner now rolls out the film on its own streaming service, Legendary wants to see the money from the previous partner. Then there is still the threat of a lawsuit – not aimed at a theatrical release, but at the payment of money.
Will Smith’s “King Richard” is also an issue
More and more, however, the impression arises that at Warner the streaming decision was made without considering existing contracts. Not only filmmakers like Villeneuve or partners like Legendary complain about this, but the film “King Richard” also shows it.
The sports biopic about the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, played by superstar Will Smith, should also appear in 2021. Here, too, Warner announced that the film would be shown on HBO Max in parallel with the cinema release. But this may not be allowed at all.
Because how Deadline reports the contracts with Will Smith and the Williams family expressly state that the film will be shown exclusively in the cinema first. This point was even the argument why the film ended up on Warner and not on Netflix, where there was also great interest. As a result, there is a risk of a legal dispute here too, should Warner stick to his plan.
It’s not the only litigation that threatens. For example, many actresses and actors who have a share in the cinema revenues are likely to think about whether they are being deprived of money here. The fact that “Wonder Woman 1984” director Patty Jenkins and leading actress Gal Gadot were allegedly paid compensation for these failures by Warner is said to cause displeasure in the industry, but other stars did not get such an offer. Some stars are said to be considering boycotting the PR work for the films (interviews, etc.).
The serial killer thriller “The Little Things” is just the beginning
Incidentally, the details of the disputes over Warner’s streaming strategy reach us via Deadline all about the release of the first trailer for “The Little Things” – not without reason.
After “Wonder Woman 1984” was released as a special case on HBO Max, the serial killer thriller with Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto will be the first movie in 2021 that will get the parallel exploitation cinema and streaming.
In Germany, “The Little Things” will continue to be released in theaters on January 28, 2021, and it will remain exciting to see what Warner is doing in this country. But it is no less exciting whether the renowned Hollywood studio can actually carry out its big plans to push its own streaming service, which has not started well, as planned. And if they pull through it, what impact it will have for the future, because stars & directors are so angry that they prefer to work with other studios on the following projects …
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