Jason Kilar: Warner Bros. will produce 10 films for HBO Max in 2022



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Warner Bros. will produce 10 or more movies exclusively for HBO Max in 2022, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said Thursday, saying “movies matter and will continue to matter.”

Kilar spoke on AT&T’s second quarter earnings call in which he was asked about the company’s distribution strategy for Warner Bros. titles. next year. WarnerMedia rocked the industry late last year with its decision to have HBO Max and theatrical releases for the studio’s entire 2021 roster, given COVID lockdown conditions had closed theaters.

Next year, Warner Bros. appears to be reverting to a more traditional theatrical release strategy, albeit with a shortened window of 45 for exclusive theatrical distribution, for many movie-related titles on its roster. WarnerMedia itself will go through a transition next year with its plans to split AT&T into a merger with Discovery, whose CEO David Zaslav will take the reins of the combined company if the deal is approved by regulators.

Kilar said he doesn’t see the industry “going back to how the world was in 2015, 2016 or 2017” with a long 75- to 90-day window for a title to release in theaters before its first release. home video. Warner Bros. has already announced that it will move to a 45-day window for key movie titles.

Kilar highlighted the success of Warner Bros. with the genre film “Godzilla Vs. Kong”, which grossed $ 460 million in box office revenue, a sign that box office turnstiles are still a significant revenue generator for the studio.

“It is clear that the movies matter and will continue to matter,” Kilar said. “They also matter to them in terms of the response we got” from consumers who signed up for HBO Max.

Kilar predicted that Hollywood “will see this industry continue to evolve and innovate in a way that works not only for consumers and fans, but also for our business partners,” he said on the conference call. with Wall Street analysts.

The day and date movement created waves in Hollywood’s creative community, which surprised the filmmakers, some of whom expressed their anger. WarnerMedia has said distribution plans for the studio’s 2022 roster will be worked out on a film-by-film basis. Kilar’s comments on Thursday indicated the studio was looking at the 45-day window plan for films starting in theaters while Warner Bros. will increase the volume of originals designed for HBO Max.



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