Legendary Entertainment, the studio behind Godzilla vs. Kong and Dune, could be taking legal action against Warner Bros. soon to challenge the company's 2021 streaming release plan. In a surprise announcement last week, Warner Bros. revealed that all 17 of their upcoming 2021 movies would release on HBO Max on the same day as their theatrical releases. Starting the day of their U.S. theater releases, the films, which include Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong, The Suicide Squad, In the Heights and more, will hit HBO Max for one month before continuing in U.S. and international theaters. The landmark decision sent shockwaves across the film industry. While the studio previously applied the plan to Wonder Woman 1984, their decision to send all of the films on their 2021 slate straight to streaming raised concerns about how movie theaters will be affected long-term.
The move follows what has already been a tough year for the movie industry due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many major film studios have chosen to either push their movie releases back to 2021 or 2022 or have a limited theatrical run and head to streaming early. Theater chains have struggled to bring audiences in since the start of the pandemic, and as cases have continued to spread, theaters have re-closed or remained closed. With the COVID-19 vaccines expected soon, the industry was in hopes to be back on its feet by 2021. However, Warner Bros.' latest release strategy puts the future of cinemas in question, and many major film studios and theater chains are not on board with the decision. The largest movie theater chain in the U.S., AMC, vocally opposed Warner Bros.' decision. Now the studio could be facing legal action.
Reports from Deadline suggest that Legendary Entertainment could be taking legal action against Warner Bros., challenging the HBO Max release plan for Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong. According to Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr., the studio could be taking action as early as today. Read his comment below:
I’m hearing that Legendary Entertainment either has or will send legal letters to Warner Bros as soon as today, challenging the decision to put the Denis Villenueve-directed Dune into the HBO Max deal, and maybe Godzilla vs. Kong as well. On the latter, Legendary reportedly had Netflix ready to pull the film from Warner Bros for around $250 million, before WarnerMedia blocked it. Sources said Legendary had no advance notice before last week’s announcement that both Dune and Godzilla Vs. Kong were part of the HBO Max plan.
Fleming Jr. goes on to explain that Legendary appears to have the right to challenge Warner Bros., as Legendary provided around 75 percent of Dune's $165 million budget, and similarly for Godzilla vs. Kong. The deal could threaten both franchises' long-term viability if they start out on the streaming service. The Denis Villeneuve-directed Dune is adapted from the six-novel series by Frank Herbert and could go on to spawn a six-film franchise if successful. In fact, Dune 2 and a TV spinoff are already in development. Godzilla vs. Kong is currently set for release in theaters and HBO Max on May 21, 2021, while Dune is scheduled for October 1, 2021.
It's not a surprise that Legendary is pushing back against Warner Bros.' release strategy. More studios could likely follow suit in the coming weeks, especially as they reportedly did not receive any advance notice before the announcement either. With Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong intended to continue into franchises, the HBO Max deal could be detrimental to Legendary's plan. It will be interesting to see what happens next if Legendary does take legal action, as well as the response from other studios.
Source: Deadline
