Warner Bros. stunned movie fans this week with the announcement that the studio's entire 2021 slate - including tentpoles like Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong and The Suicide Squad - will release on HBO Max on the same day as their theatrical release. For now, though, The Batman is still set to be exclusive to theaters.
The coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge for the film industry, forcing the shutdown of movie theaters worldwide and the delay of many major releases. Once it became clear that the new normal created by the pandemic could last for a year or more, studios began exploring alternative approaches to releasing. Movies like Trolls: World Tour and Mulan were released on Premium VOD, while Bill and Ted Face the Music received a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release. Despite rising numbers of new COVID-19 infections, Warner Bros. released Christopher Nolan's Tenet at the start of September, with the movie performing well overseas but bombing in the United States.
The bold move to release movies on HBO Max was a decision almost certainly influenced by Tenet's performance. The HBO Max releases will be available to US audiences only, giving Warner Bros. movies the opportunity to perform well at the international box office, and availability will be limited to one month, encouraging people to sign up for a HBO Max subscription before the movie they want to see is gone. This release approach is currently only intended to be used for Warner Bros.' 2021 slate. Therefore The Batman, which had its release date pushed back from October 1, 2021 to March 4, 2022, is not set to join Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad on the list of movies that will get a simultaneous HBO Max release.
HBO Max's announcement has provoked mixed reactions from movie fans, with some lamenting the negative impact it will have on theaters as they struggle to get back on their feet in 2021, and setting a bad precedent that could lead to a more permanent use of this release approach. On the other hand, it can be argued that Warner Bros. is taking a pragmatic approach to releasing movies amid the ongoing pandemic, especially following criticism that Tenet's release encouraged audiences to return to theaters before it was safe to do so.
With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines set to begin around the world over the next few weeks and months, it seems there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel after a brutal year for the film industry. The process of getting the pandemic under control is expected to continue well into 2021, which is why Warner Bros. has decided to commit its entire 2021 slate to HBO Max releases. Parent company AT&T is likely hoping that this release approach will attract some much-needed subscribers to HBO Max, which has struggled to build a userbase since its launch in May 2020.
Despite the fears that this decision could lead to the death of the theatrical moviegoing experience, Warner Bros. chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff has said that it's a temporary measure for 2021. "No one wants films back on the big screen more than we do," she said. "We know new content is the lifeblood of theatrical exhibition, but we have to balance this with the reality that most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021." The Batman will be a crucial release for Warner Bros. in 2022, with easy potential for a worldwide box office gross north of a billion dollars. The film industry will (hopefully) be moving into a recovery phase by early 2022, and the studio is unlikely to compromise The Batman's theatrical box office run with a simultaneous HBO Max release if it doesn't have to.
