Wonder Woman 1984 is changing course. The last big blockbuster holdout of 2020 is still opening in U.S. theaters on Christmas Day but it will also be made available to HBO Max subscribers free of charge for its first month, Warner Bros. said on Wednesday. After the first month for free on HBO Max, Wonder Woman 1984 will play in theatres for an additional few weeks before being made available for rental on demand. It is an unprecedented strategy for a film of its size, but a sign of the extraordinary measures that many Hollywood studios have had to resort to in the COVID 19-era. Most major films that had been set for 2020 have either delayed theatrical releases until 2021 or sent them to streaming platforms for a premium rental price, as Walt Disney Co. did with Mulan.
Audiences have not been going back to the theatres in significant numbers since they began to reopen across the country in late August. Most studios decided at that point to push their biggest films, from the James Bond film No Time to Die to West Side Story and Black Widow, to next year. Warner Bros. also sent its next big film, The Witches straight to HBO Max, which parent company Warner Media launched earlier this year. Although new films are being released weekly in theatres where open, exhibitors are struggling and have been desperate for government assistance and a steady stream of blockbusters to populate their screens.
