Warner Sending Entire 2021 Slate to HBO Max and Theaters.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by EvaDK

Dreadful decision.
Warner is going to lose a fortune from this and I reckon we can forget about Dune Part II.

Chillax, the HBOMax releases are US-only, and we know movies wouldn't be making much in the US anyway right now. Tenet made only about 16% or so of its global take in the US.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by BluPat

I would rather they release movies onto streaming and physical media the same time as to get the money for the finished product. Like Halloween Kills, Candyman, etc. Just release them already and they can get the money out of the streaming or fans like me buying the PHYSICAL media. I always buy physical media.
All this pushing movies back to next century... Screw that.

The pandemic has played havoc with the theatrical releasing window. It has not affected physical media releasing in any way other than the lack of new tentpole titles.

You don't fix what isn't broken.

[mwynn]

“When we think about the dynamic that’s happening with everybody who’s making good theatrical content right now, it’s kind of creating this big bubble,” Stankey said. “Once we see that the consumer is ready to come back into a theater, if all of a sudden everybody releases their inventory, then that’s not going to be a good thing either because there’s only a certain amount of theatergoing that the population is going to do at any one time.”

This is a very good thought on this. That bubble has been increasing for awhile now, and was going to burst sooner or later anyway.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by captveg

I think he's making very reasonabe, pragmatic points. Everyone upset about it have that right to be upset, but he's not wrong about the way the winds are blowing.

Jason Kilar, now CEO of WM has been tasked with three goals:

Grow HBO Max
Grow HBO Max
Grow HBO Max

It's as simple as that. Of course all the anti-streaming people are going to push back. Good luck - like trying to nail JELL-O to the wall.

[mwynn]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Jason Kilar, now CEO of WM has been tasked with three goals:

Grow HBO Max
Grow HBO Max
Grow HBO Max

It's as simple as that. Of course all the anti-streaming people are going to push back. Good luck - like trying to nail JELL-O to the wall.

Yes and if he fails they will reorg bring someone else in and they will have the same mandate.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by mwynn

Yes and if he fails they will reorg bring someone else in and they will have the same mandate.

Absolutely!

The Brass Ring is gigantic. It's worth billions of dollars per year in revenue along with giving the media companies something they have wished for: direct contact with their consumers.

[BluPat]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

The pandemic has played havoc with the theatrical releasing window. It has not affected physical media releasing in any way other than the lack of new tentpole titles.

You don't fix what isn't broken.

What? That's why I said just release them. Holding out for a better tomorrow isn't making them money

[InuYashaCrusade]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

I just prefer to post articles with intelligent feedback as opposed to most of the dribble found on these threads.

Whats the point in posting here if that's how you feel?

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by InuYashaCrusade

Whats the point in posting here if that's how you feel?

I find many amusing. They make me laugh.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by EvaDK

Dreadful decision.
Warner is going to lose a fortune from this and I reckon we can forget about Dune Part II.

Eh, it's no more money than they're gonna lose by spending $250M+ on a single movie and leaving it in the proverbial field to rot. Yes, I know people keep saying why don't they hold it back for whenever it gets back to normal but that's not a given, it just isn't, and even if it did get back to normal tomorrow Warner matey has a point: several studios are still sitting on movies that in any normal climate would each be grossing nearer a billion dollars than not worldwide (though Dune ain't one of 'em), but they weren't all going to be released at the same time. They'd still need to be staggered so as to not have all the big blockbusters cannibalising each other's ticket sales, so once we've waited a year or two we'd still need to wait some more after that.

That's just too long to wait while you've spent well over a billion dollars on a slate of 2021 features and aren't seeing a penny come back on it, as well as lucrative marketing tie-ins that are essentially worthless while the fillum sits there like a dumb shit on a hard drive somewhere. Studios don't just magick money up out of thin air, they're always borrowing from banks and investors and hedge funds and sharing budgets with foreign partners and they're all gonna want to see a return on that investment. Have Warners jumped the gun by dumping EVERYTHING to streaming for next year? Possibly, but I just cannot see mass participation events like cinema-going getting back to the way they were for a long time, so Warners have gone for the nuclear option.

The argument is usually that something is better than nothing, yes, but after Tenet I think Warners got spooked at how badly the US side performed (because US takings still account for huge chunks of income from theatrical releases, whether people believe it or not). And part of me wonders whether they realised that expensive stuff like Godzilla vs Kong and Dune wasn't gonna make a dent at the box office so by ushering them straight onto streaming they can avoid the inevitable recriminations that would've followed.

[Britbuffguy]

Originally Posted by BluPat

I would rather they release movies onto streaming and physical media the same time as to get the money for the finished product. Like Halloween Kills, Candyman, etc. Just release them already and they can get the money out of the streaming or fans like me buying the PHYSICAL media. I always buy physical media.
All this pushing movies back to next century... Screw that.

I hardly think Halloween Kills is getting delayed until 2100. Plus the last one sucked, why the hurry?

[UniSol GR77]

Irony.

It seems like "Dark Phoenix" will be retconned as a hit, once all major 200 million dollars-budgeted releases will flop in the next months.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by BluPat

What? That's why I said just release them. Holding out for a better tomorrow isn't making them money

No - you said they should release physical media the same time the movie drops on HBO Max.

They are not interested in money. What they want are new subs for HBO Max. Selling Blu-rays of WW194 the same day it hits HBO Max does absolutely nothing to increase their sub count. As a matter of fact it would probably have a negative effect.

[MattJ1991]

Originally Posted by EvaDK

Dreadful decision.
Warner is going to lose a fortune from this and I reckon we can forget about Dune Part II.

Let's be honest, Dune Part II was never gonna happen if they relied on the box office to decide that. Blade Runner 2049 bombed and Dune would have been no different. I can actually see Dune getting big viewership on HBO Max, and them deciding to carry on with Part II and doubling down on that Sisterhood TV series idea.

[Britbuffguy]

Originally Posted by captveg

The Batman is a March 2022 release, not premiering on HBO Max alongside theaters (yet).

It will be. This ONLY in 2021 crap is a total lie. You're not gonna give the people too scared/lazy/whatever movies at home and then take it away. I think Warner has pretty much signed its death wish, or at least HBO Max's, as you take away the same day drops, HBO MAX fizzles, but if you continue to cater to that crowd, your box office from theaters fizzles.

I think they kind of opened a hole here that they won't be able to come back from. Maybe going full streaming is what they wanted from the get go?

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Britbuffguy

It will be. This ONLY in 2021 crap is a total lie. You're not gonna give the people too scared/lazy/whatever movies at home and then take it away. I think Warner has pretty much signed its death wish, or at least HBO Max's, as you take away the same day drops, HBO MAX fizzles, but if you continue to cater to that crowd, your box office from theaters fizzles.

I think they kind of opened a hole here that they won't be able to come back from. Maybe going full streaming is what they wanted from the get go?

Let's be clear about what you are saying. You are saying the top executives from WarnerMedia and Warner Bros are lying through their teeth when they say the pandemic has caused havoc with their (and all other media companies) business plans, forcing them to adjust to unique circumstances out of their control. But when all is normal again, they will continue their contingent business plans as SOP: Standard Operating Procedure.

Do I have that correct?

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Cliff

But I would also argue that it's worth billions of dollars as an ancillary to their theatrical business. It works adjacent... not in opposition. Think of it this way...

Disney+ has 73 million subs. if you were to average $10 per month/per sub (which is MUCH higher than the actual average)... Disney stands to make $8.7B per year in Disney+ subs. Disney brought in $11.1B in worldwide theatrical box office. Why would ANY studio want to throw out that $11B when that isn't going to be offset by additional gains on the streaming side. Right now, Warner Bros can get people to pay for a movie 3 times... once in the theatrical market, once in the home video market and once more again in the pay TV subscription market. Why would eliminate one of more of those rather large revenue streams in favor of one that won't see gains to the ones you discarded?

Now yes... these numbers can't be 100% balanced because some of Disney's $11.1B 2019 haul goes back to the theaters, some of it goes into profit participation, some of it obviously covers production and marketing. BUT... other than the small percentage that goes back to the theater chains, all of those other costs still need to be covered. Why would Disney spend $500M dollars to make and market an Avengers Endgame when it's not going to return any long-term revenue beyond it's initial exclusive Disney+ release?

You forgot to add in the billions spent on marketing costs to get the $13 billion (gross) that they did in 2019. Between the movie theaters, distributors and profit sharing talent, they would be lucky to get 50% of that $13B. The international market is not as profitable as the domestic market. Then we have the billions spent on Marketing.

BTW - how does the money flow? It flows first through the theaters, then to the distributors, then to the studio. With Disney+, their monthly sub $ flows directly to them.

And - they get an email address for every sub.

People really need to get past this bias that just because THEY don't think theaters are important that the studios and the industry don't think they're important. If the studios really wanted to get rid of theaters... why would they have delayed ANY of their films by a year or more. People around here are solving logic problems with emotions and that's not how business works.

The only force getting rid of movie theaters is COVID-19.

[sandman slim]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

I just prefer to post articles with intelligent feedback as opposed to most of the dribble found on these threads.

Dave... Stop, Dave... I can feel my mind going, Dave...

[Creed]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

I just prefer to post articles with intelligent feedback as opposed to most of the dribble found on these threads.

[BluPat]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

No - you said they should release physical media the same time the movie drops on HBO Max.

They are not interested in money. What they want are new subs for HBO Max. Selling Blu-rays of WW194 the same day it hits HBO Max does absolutely nothing to increase their sub count. As a matter of fact it would probably have a negative effect.

Since when is the movie business not about money?