So live theater on Broadway and the West End will survive but cinema chains will not.
Easy to blame covid 19 and online streaming advances, but maybe the hard truth is this current generation of Hollywood filmmakers just ain’t good or talented enough to draw audiences.
Anonymous
Christopher Nolan has more than enough talent to draw audiences, circumstances made it difficult. Were it not for Trump ruining everything, the virus would’ve been spiked by June, and we’d be more or less open by now, and Tenet would’ve been the runaway hit it would’ve been without the virus.
What have you done with your life, worm?
Fiel Relluf
Only democrats would make a flu political. No one blamed Woodrow Wilson for 14 million Spanish flu deaths. But people also had morals, values and spines and respected the other party and freedom of speech. You just showed your hand. Weak.
Q
Hey Nolan fanboy, stand back and watch a movie objectively that’s considered a classic from the 1940s/1950s (pick any genre). Now watch a movie that’s considered a classic in 2018/2019. Anyone with a brain would notice that there’s been an obvious decline in quality filmaking in all departments from directing to acting to writing. Movies today mostly suck, and audiences know they’re being fed low-quality product. Audiences have been abandoning cinemas for years long before covid 19 and streaming, so you keep making excuses for Hollywood and its low present talent.
And as for Nolan, what he’s doing was being done by filmmakers and novelists way before you were born, kiddo. Nolan ain’t doing nothing new. Go watch more video game movies that you seem to love.
Derek Schwitz
The Favourite is far more sophisticated than pretty much any movie from the 40s/50s. Auteur filmmaking is as good as ever. The garbage prolefeed for the masses has always been mediocre and continues to be.
James D. Lail
Size wise this is big enough to work. Content wise it isn’t as these movies are too diverse to get people to sub to a horribly over-priced service. By that I mean if there are two or even three releases that I am interested in the high monthly fee stops me. Add to that that this likely a one time event.
Max
Stop trying to make HBO MAX relevant. It isn’t. HBO MAX is poor quality, no HD, no Roku availability. I need to see these theatrically.
DonnyO
Actually “Wonder Woman 1984” will be the first movie Max will show in 4K HDR. Supposedly their other releases will be the same quality.
nerdrage
If AT&T can’t get streaming going, then they will get out of entertainment entirely. Broadcast/cable is cratering and theaters (even without covid-19) aren’t enough. They would sell Time Warner to some company that can get theaters and streaming to work for them. Apple, Amazon?
AT&T MUST make HBO Max work. This wild desperation move is their Hail Mary.
Roger Chrane
Long past time “No Time To Die” was released on streaming. It’s over. There are so many Bond fans who would pay to watch and own it. $40, I’m in… Just saying.
Anonymous
Humbly disagree. While I’m a huge lifelong Bond fan, the only place I want to see NTTD is in a theater. Preferably an IMAX if they choose to release it in that format. But I can understand your desire just to see the film no matter what-convenience will always trump everything else. I’m sure a lot of others feel the same way.
Anonymous
Bond fans are fatigued from Daniel Craig’s 15 year run. “No Time To Die” could be a huge flop. Millennials want a different Bond. Just watching the trailer of Rami Malek’s scarface feels so 2018. By the time “No Time To Die” is released in 2021 it will feel so outdated.
Anonymous
None of what you said is true. But you said it anyway.
Anonymous
What a load of nonsense. A good movie is a good movie. Make something that actually grabs people and it will not feel dated. The problem with Bond is they have an old man playing a ‘super’ spy.
You can still watch classic Connery and it is fantastic. Same with the better offerings of the other Bonds.
The Sheriff
Roger Moore was older than Craig currently is in his last four Bond films.
Alboone
That sounds about right. I would pay that price point to own it.
Tom
Great News all Cinemas are open in New Zealand and live sport is back
Kohl
I mean good for you but New Zealand is a relatively isolated island with a population smaller than the county of Los Angeles so their plan for containing an infectious virus *might* not really translate to the United States of America.
Anonymous
We get it. Your citizens are smarter and respect each other.
Anonymous
It’s an isolated island in the South Pacific. You’re not smarter.
Anonymous
No. They are smarter, kinder, and more empathetic.
Anonymous
This is very forward thinking, Jason Kilar. Thank you, I will be watching on HBO Max.
Mikey
Goodbye Theaters.
Anonymous
More like Goodbye Studios
nerdrage
Studios can make streaming series and direct to streaming movies.
Tony
As someone who is tired of asking people to put their phones away at the theater, I welcome this move. If I don’t have to see something at the local cineplex, I won’t (entirely aside from the pandemic).
$50 and Rising
lol, how much are you willing to pay to watch a first-run release opening weekend in your home, sucker? cause the studios see you coming a mile away and the price is only going to go up if theaters go away
Anonymous
Dont think as many people r going to be subscribing to hbo max as they think they will.
Really should think about each movie separately.
Curious
They don’t need to. Much bigger problem for WB is that everyone who owns HBO already has HBO Max for free but like 70% of HBO subscribers haven’t used it at all. This will fix that.
nerdrage
Yes, they do need to. AT&T can’t just run HBO Max as a free add-on to HBO customers. They are competing with Netflix and their 200M subscribers.
However, AT&T is so far behind that they haven’t yet gotten HBO customers to log on FOR FREE. Then they have the tougher task of getting non-customers to pay $15/month when the competition is so much cheaper.
This won’t fix a damn thing until they get HBO Max on Roku. But maybe this will make HBO Max more attractive to Roku.
Find another distributor Legendary...sue if you have to.
Both Dune and Kong vs Godzilla are LEGENDARY PRODUCTIONS though. If I’m the CEO of Legendary WHO FINANCED THESE MOVIES, NOT WARNER BROS, I would definitely call the lawyers. The amount of lost revenue is going to be staggering… all because some cocaine sniffing asshat d-boy exec botched the launch of his streaming service and is now trying to cover his ass.
Anonymous
weird comment for so many reasons
Anonymous
It’s a valid question and you’re an asshole.
Jack Harper
BUT, WB has the distribution rights. In the end they get to decide how to release the movie.
Sorry playah, WB is on the wrong side of the law.
It’s Legendary’s money on the line… not WB’s. And it’s just been confirmed Legendary was not made aware of AT&T’s plans. There are grounds to sue AT&T and break the deal.
Also, Legendary is within its rights to withhold the films until they feel “they are ready for release.”
Jack Harper
Yes, WB will be paying Legendary. But in the ending, WB has the distribution rights. They’re the ones who decide when and how to release the film.
Ulackexperience
You’ve never made or sold a film, have you? Never even SEEN a contract. LMAO. Lmaoooooo.
This decision is horrendous for Canadians, who have traditionally been afforded simultaneous release dates for American films. We Canadians don’t have access to HBO Max, and most of our cinemas are shuttered. How will Warner reach this 40-million-person market? Or don’t they care?
Tara
Crave+HBO bundle package incl HBO MAX content
Tara
Crave + HBO package includes HBO MAX content
Anonymous
Canada has most of its theaters open, doesn’t it?
HG
I guess they’ll land on Crave… Godzilla, Dune and wonder woman in 1080i with basic 5.1 lol
Anonymous
They may leverage their existing relationship with Crave. If not all of these titles will be available immediately on Torrent sites.
Drew
Wow…It’s officially over for the theater business. There’s no coming back from this move. Theater stocks are going to crash in a big way today.
ToxicAvenger
no.
Wiktor
This will actually help theaters immensely. Whereever they open it won’t be quick or all at once. And those theaters will need to open with some new content. This provides life support to cinemas.
Anonymous
Take a long walk off a short pier, troll. Theaters will emerge on the other side and survive. Sure, they’ll definitely contract, but the survivors will be stronger than ever and know how to adapt. If all the things that were supposed to kill off theaters in the past never did, nothing will now.
Why do you want theaters to fail so badly? Are you that jaded that you’d rather do nothing but sit at home, even though films cannot possibly be as big as MMA PPVs? Because no film can make back their budget in that model, I’m sorry to say.
It’s not over for anything. The virus is still out there and it’s not going away overnight. These movies will still play in theaters, and hopefully, enough people will go to see the big ones, like Godzilla vs Kong, Suicide Squad and The Matrix 4. There is no way, no how, that movies theaters, one of the great entertainment institutions, is going away. Same for the music business. It’s on hold, but it will be back when it can.
nerdrage
I’m watching Dune on the big screen regardless. Maybe by fall 2021, HBO Max will be on Roku.
So live theater on Broadway and the West End will survive but cinema chains will not.
Easy to blame covid 19 and online streaming advances, but maybe the hard truth is this current generation of Hollywood filmmakers just ain’t good or talented enough to draw audiences.
Christopher Nolan has more than enough talent to draw audiences, circumstances made it difficult. Were it not for Trump ruining everything, the virus would’ve been spiked by June, and we’d be more or less open by now, and Tenet would’ve been the runaway hit it would’ve been without the virus.
What have you done with your life, worm?
Only democrats would make a flu political. No one blamed Woodrow Wilson for 14 million Spanish flu deaths. But people also had morals, values and spines and respected the other party and freedom of speech. You just showed your hand. Weak.
Hey Nolan fanboy, stand back and watch a movie objectively that’s considered a classic from the 1940s/1950s (pick any genre). Now watch a movie that’s considered a classic in 2018/2019. Anyone with a brain would notice that there’s been an obvious decline in quality filmaking in all departments from directing to acting to writing. Movies today mostly suck, and audiences know they’re being fed low-quality product. Audiences have been abandoning cinemas for years long before covid 19 and streaming, so you keep making excuses for Hollywood and its low present talent.
And as for Nolan, what he’s doing was being done by filmmakers and novelists way before you were born, kiddo. Nolan ain’t doing nothing new. Go watch more video game movies that you seem to love.
The Favourite is far more sophisticated than pretty much any movie from the 40s/50s. Auteur filmmaking is as good as ever. The garbage prolefeed for the masses has always been mediocre and continues to be.
Size wise this is big enough to work. Content wise it isn’t as these movies are too diverse to get people to sub to a horribly over-priced service. By that I mean if there are two or even three releases that I am interested in the high monthly fee stops me. Add to that that this likely a one time event.
Stop trying to make HBO MAX relevant. It isn’t. HBO MAX is poor quality, no HD, no Roku availability. I need to see these theatrically.
Actually “Wonder Woman 1984” will be the first movie Max will show in 4K HDR. Supposedly their other releases will be the same quality.
If AT&T can’t get streaming going, then they will get out of entertainment entirely. Broadcast/cable is cratering and theaters (even without covid-19) aren’t enough. They would sell Time Warner to some company that can get theaters and streaming to work for them. Apple, Amazon?
AT&T MUST make HBO Max work. This wild desperation move is their Hail Mary.
Long past time “No Time To Die” was released on streaming. It’s over. There are so many Bond fans who would pay to watch and own it. $40, I’m in… Just saying.
Humbly disagree. While I’m a huge lifelong Bond fan, the only place I want to see NTTD is in a theater. Preferably an IMAX if they choose to release it in that format. But I can understand your desire just to see the film no matter what-convenience will always trump everything else. I’m sure a lot of others feel the same way.
Bond fans are fatigued from Daniel Craig’s 15 year run. “No Time To Die” could be a huge flop. Millennials want a different Bond. Just watching the trailer of Rami Malek’s scarface feels so 2018. By the time “No Time To Die” is released in 2021 it will feel so outdated.
None of what you said is true. But you said it anyway.
What a load of nonsense. A good movie is a good movie. Make something that actually grabs people and it will not feel dated. The problem with Bond is they have an old man playing a ‘super’ spy.
You can still watch classic Connery and it is fantastic. Same with the better offerings of the other Bonds.
Roger Moore was older than Craig currently is in his last four Bond films.
That sounds about right. I would pay that price point to own it.
Great News all Cinemas are open in New Zealand and live sport is back
I mean good for you but New Zealand is a relatively isolated island with a population smaller than the county of Los Angeles so their plan for containing an infectious virus *might* not really translate to the United States of America.
We get it. Your citizens are smarter and respect each other.
It’s an isolated island in the South Pacific. You’re not smarter.
No. They are smarter, kinder, and more empathetic.
This is very forward thinking, Jason Kilar. Thank you, I will be watching on HBO Max.
Goodbye Theaters.
More like Goodbye Studios
Studios can make streaming series and direct to streaming movies.
As someone who is tired of asking people to put their phones away at the theater, I welcome this move. If I don’t have to see something at the local cineplex, I won’t (entirely aside from the pandemic).
lol, how much are you willing to pay to watch a first-run release opening weekend in your home, sucker? cause the studios see you coming a mile away and the price is only going to go up if theaters go away
Dont think as many people r going to be subscribing to hbo max as they think they will.
Really should think about each movie separately.
They don’t need to. Much bigger problem for WB is that everyone who owns HBO already has HBO Max for free but like 70% of HBO subscribers haven’t used it at all. This will fix that.
Yes, they do need to. AT&T can’t just run HBO Max as a free add-on to HBO customers. They are competing with Netflix and their 200M subscribers.
However, AT&T is so far behind that they haven’t yet gotten HBO customers to log on FOR FREE. Then they have the tougher task of getting non-customers to pay $15/month when the competition is so much cheaper.
This won’t fix a damn thing until they get HBO Max on Roku. But maybe this will make HBO Max more attractive to Roku.
Both Dune and Kong vs Godzilla are LEGENDARY PRODUCTIONS though. If I’m the CEO of Legendary WHO FINANCED THESE MOVIES, NOT WARNER BROS, I would definitely call the lawyers. The amount of lost revenue is going to be staggering… all because some cocaine sniffing asshat d-boy exec botched the launch of his streaming service and is now trying to cover his ass.
weird comment for so many reasons
It’s a valid question and you’re an asshole.
BUT, WB has the distribution rights. In the end they get to decide how to release the movie.
It’s Legendary’s money on the line… not WB’s. And it’s just been confirmed Legendary was not made aware of AT&T’s plans. There are grounds to sue AT&T and break the deal.
Also, Legendary is within its rights to withhold the films until they feel “they are ready for release.”
Yes, WB will be paying Legendary. But in the ending, WB has the distribution rights. They’re the ones who decide when and how to release the film.
You’ve never made or sold a film, have you? Never even SEEN a contract. LMAO. Lmaoooooo.
What a cataclysmic difference a year makes
This decision is horrendous for Canadians, who have traditionally been afforded simultaneous release dates for American films. We Canadians don’t have access to HBO Max, and most of our cinemas are shuttered. How will Warner reach this 40-million-person market? Or don’t they care?
Crave+HBO bundle package incl HBO MAX content
Crave + HBO package includes HBO MAX content
Canada has most of its theaters open, doesn’t it?
I guess they’ll land on Crave… Godzilla, Dune and wonder woman in 1080i with basic 5.1 lol
They may leverage their existing relationship with Crave. If not all of these titles will be available immediately on Torrent sites.
Wow…It’s officially over for the theater business. There’s no coming back from this move. Theater stocks are going to crash in a big way today.
no.
This will actually help theaters immensely. Whereever they open it won’t be quick or all at once. And those theaters will need to open with some new content. This provides life support to cinemas.
Take a long walk off a short pier, troll. Theaters will emerge on the other side and survive. Sure, they’ll definitely contract, but the survivors will be stronger than ever and know how to adapt. If all the things that were supposed to kill off theaters in the past never did, nothing will now.
Why do you want theaters to fail so badly? Are you that jaded that you’d rather do nothing but sit at home, even though films cannot possibly be as big as MMA PPVs? Because no film can make back their budget in that model, I’m sorry to say.
It’s not over for anything. The virus is still out there and it’s not going away overnight. These movies will still play in theaters, and hopefully, enough people will go to see the big ones, like Godzilla vs Kong, Suicide Squad and The Matrix 4. There is no way, no how, that movies theaters, one of the great entertainment institutions, is going away. Same for the music business. It’s on hold, but it will be back when it can.
I’m watching Dune on the big screen regardless. Maybe by fall 2021, HBO Max will be on Roku.
Same here.
Flop