WarnerMedia CEO, Jason Kilar, has admitted that he believes he rushed the implementation of HBO Max's day-and-date simultaneous release plan. The studio adjusted its schedule in order to release films through uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. They announced they would be using the strategy for their entire 2021 film slate, as well as their upcoming releases throughout 2022.

WarnerMedia implemented their HBO Max day-and-date plan in December 2020 due to following months of inactivity due to theater closures amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, using the strategy to release Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 1984 on the service alongside its theatrical release. Following its success, with the service reaching 41 million users after its release, Warner Bros. has since released many blockbusters such as Godzilla VS Kong, Mortal Kombat, and The Suicide Squad through the strategy, with Dune and The Matrix Resurrections set to debut as day-and-date releases as well. Despite bringing in subscribers for HBO Max and allowing Warner Bros. to maintain ongoing releases, the strategy has become a hot topic amongst those in the industry, with WarnerMedia's CEO now chiming in.

Related: HBO Max: Every Movie & TV Show Coming In October 2021

According to THR, WarnerMedia's current CEO, Kilar, spoke to Vox Media's Code Conference about the overall state of the strategy. Kilar admitted that the studio may have rushed things in order to set up the strategy, hoping to avoid leaks and various individuals debating whether the strategy was right. He expresses that looking back, he wishes they would have communicated more with those whose movies were set to be a part of the deal. Despite this, Kilar feels that the strategy worked, saying the company is in a good position because of it. Check out Kilar's response below:

“I will be the first one to say, and the responsibility rests on my shoulders, that, in hindsight, we should have taken the better part of a month to have over 170 conversations — which is the number of participants that are in our 2021 film slate. We tried to do that in a compressed period of time, less than a week, because of course there was going to be leaks there was going to be everybody opining on whether we should do this or not do this... We said from the start that we were going to treat every single film as a blockbuster, from an economic perspective, for participants, that we were going to be fair and generous, we were going to do the right thing. The good news is we did, and we worked our tail ends off to do that. And we’re now in a very good situation.”

Chani looking serious in Dune

WarnerMedia's strategy has already met criticism from many filmmakers, including Jenkins, who feels that it harmed the film's performance and left her heartbroken. Jenkins joins filmmakers such as Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan in critiquing the release strategy, with each filmmaker feeling that the strategy would be unable to truly capture the spirit of their work and ultimately diminish the filmgoing experience. Warner Bros. also had to compensate those unhappy with the shift in strategy, paying millions to placate those affected.

Day-and-date, as well as similar strategies such as Disney+'s Premier Access, are set to change the industry for the foreseeable future, with both WarnerMedia and The Walt Disney Company adjusting their theatrical releases to exclusive 45-debut theatrical windows before releases can debut on their services, despite filmmakers' complaints. Studios will also look to streaming numbers to judge a film's success, with Dune's HBO Max performance being a factor in whether the sequel is greenlit, according to insiders. Despite this, it has been proven through the box office performances of films like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings that theaters will still have a place in the future.

Next: Dune's Sequel Chances Show How Important Streaming Is Now

Source: THR

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