How will Warner Bros. streaming impact moviegoing? Three questions.
Warner Bros. Pictures will debut its entire 2021 movie slate 鈥� which includes sci-fi flick 鈥淒une,鈥� the highly anticipated 鈥淢atrix 4,鈥� and Sopranos prequel 鈥淭he Many Saints of Newark鈥� 鈥� on HBO Max. This is the first time a major studio has decided to put a year鈥檚 worth of would-be blockbusters online. In a Dec. 3 announcement, the chief executive of WarnerMedia Studios, which owns both Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max, called the move a 鈥渃reative solution to address our fans, our filmmakers, and our exhibitors.鈥� Not everyone agreed. Actors, directors, and theaters were quick to denounce Warner Bros.鈥� move as a bait-and-switch tactic to buoy an underperforming streaming platform, and for moviegoers and moviemakers alike, this streaming shakeup leaves many questions.
Q: Can I see these 2021 films at the theater?
That depends. Warner Bros. will release each of these 17 films online and simultaneously in theaters, and after the first month, a title will leave HBO Max and play exclusively at cinemas. Outside the United States, they will roll out as usual.
Why We Wrote This
It鈥檚 a shake-up to how this business is normally run: One entertainment conglomerate is releasing each of its 2021 movies simultaneously in theaters and on its own streaming service.
So if your local theater is open, at full or partial capacity, the films may be available. If viewers are comfortable attending the movies, and willing to pay roughly $20 for a ticket (a monthly HBO Max subscription is $14.99), they can watch Timoth茅e Chalamet face alien sandworms on the big screen.聽 聽
For American audiences, the decision offers flexibility and positions in-house streaming services as a viable distribution mechanism, a trend that predates the pandemic but has accelerated.
Q: What does this mean for theaters post-pandemic?
Although Warner Bros. calls the hybrid release schedule a 鈥渢emporary solution,鈥� critics worry it could carry over into 2022 if it helps turn HBO Max 鈥� lagging behind Netflix by roughly 180 million subscribers in the third quarter聽 鈥� into a real challenger. Even before Warner Bros.鈥� announcement, industry leaders were wondering what the moviegoing experience would look like as theaters reemerge from the pandemic with tougher competition from streaming services, and now this latest streaming strategy has fanned fears that moviegoing as we know it is through.
Paul Moore, professor of sociology and media historian at Ryerson University in Toronto, doesn鈥檛 think so. He says the rise of VHS in the 1980s inspired similar apocalyptic predictions, but home videos never replaced a night at the multiplex.
鈥淕oing to the movies is always about going out in public, with friends and family, but also with strangers,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat excitement of a sold-out blockbuster ... that鈥檚 something that we never get with television.鈥�
And it鈥檚 more than fuzzy feelings, he adds 鈥� it鈥檚 part of the business. Since the 鈥�80s, movie ticket sales have only been the tip of the iceberg of studio revenue. Professor Moore says most profits come from rebroadcasting, movie rentals, and everything else that happens after a film leaves theaters. Yet the theatrical release is crucial for generating that momentum.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really not clear if [streaming platforms can] generate enough buzz and awareness to have a franchise like Toy Story or Star Wars,鈥� says Dr. Moore.
Q: How will streaming affect future movies?
Even if moviegoing survives, a hyperemphasis on streaming could change the industry in other ways.
James Schamus, professor of professional practice at Columbia University School of the Arts, says the straight-to-streaming setup would certainly complicate the moviemaking process, in part because streaming platforms are famously opaque about their program ratings.
鈥淚f you make a hit movie, it鈥檚 just one more piece of content in a gigantic pile and [without ticket sales] it鈥檚 very difficult to understand the value of that success,鈥� says Dr. Schamus.
And just as TV has become more movielike on Netflix and other streaming platforms, Dr. Moore imagines that boundary will continue to blur as movies are made with streaming services in mind.
鈥淲hat will probably happen is that movies will get smaller and movies will end up more like TV,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he boundary between a television series and a blockbuster movie could collapse.鈥�
