To limit the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their business, Warner Bros. studios have decided that all of their films scheduled for next year in the United States will be released on their video-on-demand platform HBO Max at the same time as their cinema release.
Before the new
Matrix
and the
Dune
remake
,
it is the second episode of
Wonder Woman
which inaugurates this formula this year.
It will be released in the United States simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max on Christmas Day, in an attempt to offset the impact of the pandemic that has rocked Hollywood and the blockbuster calendar.
Which was not to the taste of several directors and actors signing with Warner.
Read also: Christopher Nolan denounces the attitude (and the stinginess) of Warner Bros and HBO Max
And what does Patty Jenkins, the director of
Wonder Woman 1984
, think
?
“
If you had asked me about this double outing a few years ago, I would have been horrified,
” she explains to
Le Figaro.
Releasing
Wonder Woman 1984
the same week, both in theaters and on HBO Max streaming, is something I wouldn't normally have accepted.
But we are living such a crazy year that, in the end, nothing is more normal in this world.
You have to be pragmatic, see what your priorities are.
"
“My number 1 priority as a filmmaker,
” she explains
, “is to connect with my audience, offer a film accessible to as many people as possible, be able to reach them to move them, and bring something to the heart of their life.
"
It is for this reason that, although it was initially reluctant when Warner offered a simultaneous release, it ended up agreeing.
“Obviously, the
Wonder Woman 1984
cinematic experience
, as extraordinary as it might be in a movie theater, is going to be toned down on HBO Max.
But you have to give the film the chance to make money by being shown around the world in every way possible.
That worries me a lot. ”
Read also: Warner will release its films simultaneously in streaming and in theaters, "an earthquake for the film industry"
In an exceptional situation, an exceptional measure: such is the reflection of the director, who does not share Warner's long-term vision.
“I hope that the situation will improve, and that the pandemic will go away,
” she concludes
.
I hope that the films we are directing can above all be discovered in cinemas.
They were made for that.
And I fight passionately for it, don't doubt it.
But as we are going through a more than singular period at the moment, I accept this exception to the rule.
"