Warner Bros. rates options for ‘Wonder Woman 1984’

Six weeks before the release of “Wonder Woman 1984,” the executives of Warner Bros. are still debating the film’s release strategy.

Studio executives are torn between a strategy that would see the film released on Christmas and then added to the company’s HBO Max streaming service in January, and a postponement of the theatrical debut to the summer of 2021, according to multiple media outlets.

Representatives of Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that internal deliberations are leaning towards the hybrid exit model. This would allow movie chains to make a profit on ticket sales on the initial release and then generate subscriber registrations on the company’s streaming platform.

However, if “Wonder Woman 1984” goes to HBO Max, theaters are unlikely to get a cut, like AMC does with its premium video-on-demand deal with Universal. After all, HBO Max is a monthly subscription, not a paid on-demand service.

So it’s unclear how movie chains would feel such a thin theatrical window with little chance of profit once the film hits the domestic market.

Variety points out in its report that “Wonder Woman 1984” is easily a billion dollar box office blockbuster, something studio executives find it hard to ignore.

The promise of a coronavirus vaccine, which could be widely distributed as early as mid-2021, could push Warner Bros. to keep the film until next summer. After all, AT&T chief John Stankey has previously signaled his lack of confidence in the film industry’s recovery in the near term.

In October, he declared that “Tenet”, released in August internationally and in September nationally, was not a “home run”. While Christopher Nolan’s film has performed well in overseas markets, it has only grossed $ 55 million so far when it airs in the United States and Canada.

This poor performance coupled with a sharp increase in coronavirus cases in the United States could persuade Warner Bros. to move “Wonder Woman 1984” to June or July 2021.

If the film is postponed, there will only be one major film release left in 2020: “The Croods: A New Age” due to Thanksgiving. It would devastate theater chains and likely push a number of them out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Cinema chains large and small have already warned that they need new content to stay open and operational. These businesses are bleeding money and struggling to stay open long enough to get new movies to show to the public.

Without demand-inducing titles like “Wonder Woman 1984,” these chains have said they will have to file for bankruptcy to stay open and restructure their debt. Especially considering the fact that the movie schedule doesn’t have a lot of blockbuster releases until March 2021.