HBO Max and WarnerBros announced some big news that all of the film studios’ 2021 releases will hit the streaming service at the same time they premiere in theaters. This new model is being implemented starting with Wonder Woman 1984 on Dec. 25. This new hybrid distribution model is in response to the changing theater landscape due to the ever-changing Covid-19 pandemic.
HBO Max describes this as a “unique, consumer-focused distribution model in which Warner Bros. will continue to exhibit the films theatrically worldwide, while adding an exclusive one month access period on the HBO Max streaming platform in the U.S. concurrent with the film’s domestic release. “
This new change will affect the entire Warner Bros. Pictures Group’s 2021 expected release slate currently includes The Little Things, Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In The Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Reminiscence, Malignant, Dune, The Many Saints of Newark, King Richard, Cry Macho and Matrix 4.