Movies Update: Warner's HBO Max "day and date" streaming decision encountering major blowback from Hollywood talent

[CitizenVectron]

'Dune,' 'Matrix 4,' and Every 2021 Warner Bros. Film to Debut on HBO Max and in Theaters at Same Time

WWW.INDIEWIRE.COM

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All of the studios' 2021 titles will be available to stream on HBO Max for one month at the same time they open in theaters.

 

Wow, that is not good for theatres.

 

 

 

[elbobo]

guess I better push up my plans to finish that home theater in my basement 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

That's...quite...something.

[legend]

They will be keeping my subscription then!

[silentbob]

If only this could happen in Canada too. Also wish they had a home 3D option for watching as well. Cause the latest JVC update that came out for the NX/RS 4K projectors is amazing. Would love to see them on my screen with my Atmos setup too

[PaladinSolo]

I imagine all of them will be doing this eventually, Disney is generating like 500 million in revenue every month in Plus subscriptions, what easier way to increase subscriber numbers and keep new content hitting your service than just putting say your Marvel movies on it, and no paying a middle man to sell overpriced tickets.  

[Reputator]

Dammit, I REALLY don't want to pay for another subscription service.

[heydude93]

Will still most likely see Matrix 4 and Dune in theaters.

[Mr.Vic20]

Excellent! I'm not a fan of the theatre experience, so this suits me quite well! 

[skillzdadirecta]

2 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

Excellent! I'm not a fan of the theatre experience, so this suits me quite well! 

I LOVE going to the movies... but this was inevietible. I think theaters will survive COVID. But in a much diminished capacity.

[Mr.Vic20]

2 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I LOVE going to the movies... but this was inevietible. I think theaters will survive COVID. But in a much diminished capacity.

I want theaters to continue as many people do love going to them, but they are not for me. I'm old, and I like the only sound I hear being what the director wanted me to hear from start to finish. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

I wish something like this would happen in Canada -- but I dropped HBO Max when I moved back to Canada -- because it is not available as a standalone service.

[Remarkableriots]

Will this be an extra cost added per movie?

[Massdriver]

27 minutes ago, Remarkableriots said:

Will this be an extra cost added per movie?

It's a good question and I think people are missing that you will likely have to pay $30-$40 to stream the movie as it is playing in theaters. Its very unlikely you will be able to subscribe to HBO Max and stream these things for free. When Disney Plus did this, they charged a fee in addition to the subscription. 

 

Speaking for myself, I like going to the movie theater from time to time, so I look forward to going back when the pandemic is under control and herd immunity is in. I still prefer my TV at home for TV and watching most films, but for certain types of movies, you can't beat the theater.

[Spork3245]

3 minutes ago, Massdriver said:

It's a good question and I think people are missing that you will likely have to pay $30-$40 to stream the movie as it is playing in theaters. Its very unlikely you will be able to subscribe to HBO Max and stream these things for free. When Disney Plus did this, they charged a fee in addition to the subscription. 

And it bombed very hard because of that. Soul, Pixar’s new movie, will not have any extra fees on D+ because of how badly the Mulan-thing went.

[legend]

10 minutes ago, Massdriver said:

It's a good question and I think people are missing that you will likely have to pay $30-$40 to stream the movie as it is playing in theaters. Its very unlikely you will be able to subscribe to HBO Max and stream these things for free. When Disney Plus did this, they charged a fee in addition to the subscription. 

 

Speaking for myself, I like going to the movie theater from time to time, so I look forward to going back when the pandemic is under control and herd immunity is in. I still prefer my TV at home for TV and watching most films, but for certain types of movies, you can't beat the theater.

 

 

I'm not so sure about that. HBO Max is also releasing WW 1984 on its service for no additional charge.

‘Wonder Woman 1984’ to Debut Both on HBO Max and in Theaters

VARIETY.COM

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"Wonder Woman 1984" is heading to HBO Max and movie theaters on the same day.

 

 

 

So they already are setting it as a precedent of just being part of the service.

[DarkStar189]

Yeah with Wonder Woman coming out at no extra charge, that makes me interested to see if all these other movies are going to be included. 

[skillzdadirecta]

7 minutes ago, DarkStar189 said:

Yeah with Wonder Woman coming out at no extra charge, that makes me interested to see if all these other movies are going to be included. 

That's pretty much what this announcement is guys... they're trying to drive subs and these films will be on HBO MAX at no additional cost.

 

https://youtu.be/gZzR8FB8EEE

 

Says it clearly at the end of the announcement video... "No additional cost".

 

 

[ort]

Wait, they're making another Matrix movie?

 

Really?

[skillzdadirecta]

Just now, ort said:

Wait, they're making another Matrix movie?

 

Really?

Yup and until COVID, Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 were slated to come out on the same day  Not sure if that ever changed.

[Bacon]

Wow. I can't believe I'll be able to watch Dune at home day one. Fuck COVID, but holy shit. 

[Jason]

1 hour ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I LOVE going to the movies... but this was inevietible. I think theaters will survive COVID. But in a much diminished capacity.

 

I don't love it as much as you do, but I definitely enjoy going for big audiovisual spectacle stuff, especially since it's unrealistic for me to set up a proper home theater in my apartment. I've already gotten noise complaints from my 2.1 setup, I feel like my neighbors would break down my door if I tried to set up 5.1.

[skillzdadirecta]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

 

I don't love it as much as you do, but I definitely enjoy going for big audiovisual spectacle stuff, especially since it's unrealistic for me to set up a proper home theater in my apartment. I've already gotten noise complaints from my 2.1 setup, I feel like my neighbors would break down my door if I tried to set up 5.1.

I have a 7.1 system in my apartment but i can't crank it up AT ALL and the subwoofer is pretty much turned off.

[TwinIon]

Holy Moly. That's quite the bombshell landing on the box office.

 

I'm surprised that They're going a full year ahead and not looking to see if things are better by summer, or at least next winter.

 

For better or worse, this to me sounds like the move that a tech company would make. Dump billions into your product in the hopes that you can dominate the market and make it back later. We've seen Netflix, Uber, Amazon, Quibi, and any number of other successful and complete failures try the same thing.

 

While Netflix did this exact thing in this exact market, I'm dubious that it's a great idea today. The streaming market may not be fully mature, but it's clear that this isn't going to be a winner-take-all marketplace. Netflix is going to stick around, Disney (with Disney+, Hulu, & ESPN) will be around, and it's hard to imagine too many of the other networks like NBC completely giving up (especially since they're subsidized by Comcast). Even before this I'd have put Warner as the third most likely company to keep their streaming service going, thanks to a significant library, a proven track record of building new shows, and all that sweet sweet AT&T cash to keep them going.

 

Given that, I'm not so sure how much this buys them. I don't think this alone puts HBO Max in a better position than Netflix or Disney, and they were already well ahead of NBC/CBS/Sony/etc.

 

The one thing I know for sure is that I'm glad they're finally going to be streaming in 4K, because I'll probably be watching all those movies as soon as they hit streaming.

[Massdriver]

36 minutes ago, legend said:

 

 

I'm not so sure about that. HBO Max is also releasing WW 1984 on its service for no additional charge.

‘Wonder Woman 1984’ to Debut Both on HBO Max and in Theaters

VARIETY.COM

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"Wonder Woman 1984" is heading to HBO Max and movie theaters on the same day.

 

 

 

So they already are setting it as a precedent of just being part of the service.

I didn't realize that. I think this is temporary though. HBO Max is trying to hit subscriber growth targets and will lose money to make it happen for now.

[Jason]

6 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I have a 7.1 system in my apartment but i can't crank it up AT ALL and the subwoofer is pretty much turned off.

 

I have the center and rear speakers to do it but yeah, I can't be bothered to run the wires around my apartment given how low I have to set the volume anyhow.

[legend]

3 minutes ago, Massdriver said:

I didn't realize that. I think this is temporary though. HBO Max is trying to hit subscriber growth targets and will lose money to make it happen for now.

 

Could be, but I'm certainly happy for it for now. Actually, I would even be okay if they did start charging on top as long as it was a reasonable price.

[Chris-]

If @sblfilms were still around (you assholes), I think he'd say the same thing: this really won't impact theaters too much in the long run. There will definitely be some contraction given how hilariously leveraged some of the big chains are, but most people don't go out for the movies, they go out for the sake of going out.

[skillzdadirecta]

46 minutes ago, Chris- said:

If @sblfilms were still around (you assholes), I think he'd say the same thing: this really won't impact theaters too much in the long run. There will definitely be some contraction given how hilariously leveraged some of the big chains are, but most people don't go out for the movies, they go out for the sake of going out.

It will DEFINITELY impact theaters... its why the chains have been fighting this for so long. Only three or four markets in the US make up like 60 percent of the Domestic box office. Any erosion in those markets will definitely have an effect. Family films will take the largest hit... why spend all of that money on snacks and tickets and stuff when you can keep the kids at home and spend nearly nothing? Like I said earlier, I don't think this is the death knell for cinematic exhibition... smaller specialty chains will probably survive. But the days of the multiplex are numbered.

 

Industry analysts definitely don't see this as a good sign... especially if other studios like Disney do the same thing.

 

Quote

...it’s really theaters that are left cold. They will lose the first month of a film, usually around 90% of its theatrical revenue.

“Maybe you see it at home and say it looks like something great to watch on an Imax screen or a big screen. There is still something special about going to the movies. But this is certainly a disincentive,” said one analyst.

It’s true that with the vaccine coming in the first half of the year it will take a while to trickle down to the general population and many moviegoers may still be reluctant. “Everyone we talked to in the medical community suggests that this will persist in terms of consumer behavior and the medical situation for a bit of 2021, if not all of 2021,” Kilar told Deadline.

 

Disney is sitting on two new Marvel movies and a Pixar film... if they drop those on Disney plus... game over.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I, for one, will continue to watch the blockbuster, tentpole fillms in which I have an interest (which to be fair are relatively few and far between) at the cinema while wearing a mask.

[Kal-El814]

It'll definitely affect theaters especially in the short term, but I have to imagine having SOME way to distribute content is going to keep people making content.

[skillzdadirecta]

4 minutes ago, Kal-El814 said:

It'll definitely affect theaters especially in the short term, but I have to imagine having SOME way to distribute content is going to keep people making content.

I don't think content creation will be affected much... in fact there will probably be MORE as the streamers start to rely more on exclusive, subscription driving shows and films. Its the wild west out there right now.

[DarkStar189]

2 hours ago, Chris- said:

If @sblfilms were still around (you assholes), I think he'd say the same thing: this really won't impact theaters too much in the long run. There will definitely be some contraction given how hilariously leveraged some of the big chains are, but most people don't go out for the movies, they go out for the sake of going out.

Where did sblfilms go? 

[skillzdadirecta]

Just now, DarkStar189 said:

Where did sblfilms go? 

He was chased off of the boards by rampant douchery apparently.

[Emblazon]

What the shit. Come back @sblfilms! Animal Crossing had just brought us all together, too. 
 

Who can we run out of here for running SBL out of here???