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In the most seismic shift by a Hollywood studio yet during the pandemic, Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday announced that all of its 2021 film slate 鈥� including a new 鈥淢atrix鈥� movie, 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong,鈥� and the Lin-Manuel Miranda 鈥淚n the Heights鈥� adaptation聽鈥� will stream on HBO Max at the same time the films play in theaters.

Among the myriad release plan changes wrought by the pandemic, no studio has so fully embraced streaming as a lifeline. But after disappointing domestic ticket sales for 鈥淭enet,鈥� and with the majority of American theaters currently closed, the AT&T-owned Warner Bros. will turn to a hybrid distribution model next year. Films will debut simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in the United States. After one month, they will stop streaming and continue to play only in theaters.

The move follows Warner Bros.鈥� decision to put 鈥淲onder Woman 1984鈥� on HBO Max in December, along with a concurrent theatrical run. If that pivot sent shockwaves through the industry, Thursday鈥檚 announcement rattled Hollywood to the core.

鈥淕iven the unprecedented time that we鈥檙e in, we needed a creative solution to address our fans, our filmmakers, and our exhibitors, said Ann Sarnoff, chief executive of WarnerMedia Studios, in an interview. 鈥淏ig and bold is a necessity right now.鈥�

Ms. Sarnoff called it a 鈥渢emporary solution鈥� and a 鈥渙ne-year plan.鈥� The studio said other options 鈥� releasing big-budget films solely in reduced capacity theaters or delaying films another year 鈥� weren鈥檛 appealing. Warner Bros.鈥� move amounts to an acknowledgement that any full rebound for theaters is still a year or more away.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got to get people back in theaters at full capacity at some point. If you read the medical experts that鈥檚 going to take a while to work its way through the system,鈥� said Ms. Sarnoff. 鈥淚f we saw an end in sight to the pandemic, we might have a different strategy. But we don鈥檛 see that at this moment.鈥�

HBO Max is only available in the U.S. Internationally, the studio鈥檚 17 films planned for 2021 release will roll out exclusively in theaters.

Warner Bros.鈥� decision resonates especially because the 117-year-old studio, responsible for classics such as 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz鈥� and 鈥淐asablanca,鈥� has long been a market-leader in Hollywood 鈥� and also one known as especially supportive of theaters. The studio has generally ranked among the top two studios in market share over the past decade 鈥� most recently dwarfed only by Walt Disney. Warner鈥檚 films typically account for $1.5 to $2 billion annual in ticket sales in North America 鈥� a lot of money to compensate for in HBO Max subscribers. Warner Bros. confirmed the films will be available to subscribers with no further charge.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 comment on the economics of how it will all work 鈥� I鈥檇 need a crystal ball for that,鈥� said Ms. Sarnoff. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 very optimistic that this is a win-win-win for our fans, our filmmakers, and our exhibitors. We鈥檙e getting the movies out. We鈥檙e allowing them be seen on the big screen which is what they were made for, but giving an alternative. The hybrid approach also allows us to market them in a fuller way than we would have had we just looked at the less-than-full capacities in theatrical right now.鈥�

Warner Bros.鈥� 2021 slate includes many of the expected top movies of the year, including 鈥淒une,鈥� 鈥淭he Suicide Squad,鈥� 鈥淭om & Jerry,鈥� 鈥淭he Conjuring: The Devil Make Me Do It,鈥� 鈥淜ing Richard,鈥� and 鈥淛udas and the Black Messiah.鈥�

The move by Warner Bros. only makes the pain being felt by exhibitors all the more acute. Having been shuttered for much of the year, cinemas reopened nationwide in late summer except in some key locations, including Los Angeles and New York. But with most major releases postponed and virus cases surging, about 60% of theaters have since closed again. Regal Cinemas, the country鈥檚 second largest chain, has shut all its doors. Following Warner Bros.鈥� announcement, shares of AMC Entertainment fell 16%; Cinemark was down 22%.

AMC vehemently disagreed with Warner Bros.鈥� strategy. Adam Aron, chief executive of the world鈥檚 largest chain, said AMC had gone along with the 鈥淲onder Woman 1984鈥� plans because of the virus surge. But he said AMC would oppose the same approach into 2021, when a vaccine could accelerate a recovery.

鈥淐learly WarnerMedia intends to sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability of its movie studio, and that of its production partners and filmmakers, to subsidize HBO Max,鈥� said Mr. Aron in a statement. 鈥淎s for AMC, we will do all in our power to ensure that Warner does not do so at our expense.鈥�

Under chief executive Jason Kilar, the former Hulu chief, WarnerMedia recently reorganized to further prioritize its streaming service. He has moved aggressively to boost HBO Max, even if it comes at the expense of the theatrical marketplace. After a rocky rollout, HBO Max said in October that nearly 9 million people were using the platform, though 29 million had access to the streaming service as part of their HBO subscriptions. For comparison, Disney+ has about 74 million subscribers, though it鈥檚 available worldwide.

鈥淥ur content is extremely valuable, unless it鈥檚 sitting on a shelf not being seen by anyone,鈥� said Mr. Kilar in a statement. 鈥淲e believe this approach serves our fans, supports exhibitors and filmmakers, and enhances the HBO Max experience, creating value for all.鈥�

It鈥檚 the latest in a series of sea changes sweeping through an industry convulsed by the pandemic. The demise of the traditional 90-day theatrical window 鈥� something long sought by some in Hollywood 鈥� has accelerated, and many think it鈥檚 gone for good. Universal Pictures last month made deals with both AMC Theatres and Cinemark to give them the option of shifting movies into home release after just 17 days in theaters. Disney has postponed most of its releases, but redirected 鈥淗amilton,鈥� 鈥淢ulan,鈥� and the upcoming Pixar release 鈥淪oul鈥� to Disney+.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.