Hollywood declares war on HBO Max: Directors flee Warner Media, movie theaters ready to sabotage

Recall the background. In November, it was announced that Wonder woman 1984 would be an hbo Max exclusive. The scheme is as follows: on December 25, the tape will be available for viewing to all subscribers, as well as in a number of cinemas. A month after the premiere, the film will be removed from the catalog of the service, it will be possible to watch it only in cinemas (in Russia, the show starts in January). Then the tape will be returned to the library again.

Now this scheme applies to all major WarnerMedia releases in 2021: "Matrix 4", "DUNE", "Suicide Squad 2", "Godzilla vs Kong", "Tom and Jerry", "Space jam: a New generation", Mortal Kombat, "King Richard", "Curse 3: By will of devil" and so on.

As stated by the head of Warner Media Inn Sarnoff, the company believes that most of 2021 cinemas in the United States will operate with restrictions. Therefore, a "hybrid model" was used.

Such a maneuver was taken with hostility by the elite of Hollywood, for which the announcement was a complete surprise. According to Sarnoff, the company did not even communicate with consultants and film makers in order to avoid any leaks.

The owners of large movie chains, which are only a few months away from bankruptcy (for example, AMC theaters), were enraged. Now they are seriously considering the option of sabotaging the rental of all films from Warner Bros., in which tickets for the session will give approximately five dollars.

Indignant and the Directors Guild of America, which threatened to boycott WarnerMedia. The fact is that the Warner Bros. Studio has long been considered by film makers as the most comfortable place to work, where you can create with minimal restrictions. It sounds a bit ironic, given the constant scandals surrounding the DC film universe.

Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Patty Jenkins, Zack Snyder and others have already criticized the company's decision. There was even a joke about Warner Bros. now it is worth calling "Former Bros." (former brothers).

The matter is not limited to criticism. According to the head of Sony Pictures Tony Vinsiguerra, now there is a surge of interest in his Studio from Directors who are interested in theatrical releases.

"The real advantage was the number of calls from talents, creators, actors and Directors with the words: "We want to cooperate because we know that you are a cinema distributor and producer," Vinciquerra said.

It's pretty easy to explain. Despite the progressive agenda, Hollywood itself remains a rather conservative and clumsy machine that is not ready to bend under the circumstances. But the pandemic dictates its own rules of the game, which is extremely disliked by many film makers, who still disdain the potential of streaming services.

The same Nolan literally forced Warner Media to release its "Tenet" in theaters, hoping to restart the industry. As a result, the film was very short.

And the generous bonuses for those involved in the production of "Wonder woman 1984 "(they were calculated as if the tape had already collected a billion dollars at the box office) did not affect the skepticism of Patty Jenkins, who doubts that the third part from it will see the light.

At the same time, even before the release on HBO Max, it became clear that the sequel had already failed. Fees in China were significantly below the expectations of analysts, who now predict that "Wonder woman 1984" will collect only about $ 30 million in the main cinema market in 2020. In other countries, fees are much lower, given the restrictions due to the pandemic.

There are problems of a different nature. The fact is that hbo Max should release films that WarnerMedia itself did not Finance 100%. This is a common practice when several production companies and film studios share production costs to reduce risks. But this also creates problems.

We are talking about such films as "Dune" by Denis Villeneuve and "Godzilla vs Kong" by Adam Wingard. Financial investments in the production of these tapes from WarmerMedia are minimal, and the main costs fell on the partner in the person of Legendary Entertainment. And this Studio is ready to sue.

According to the statements of Legendary Entertainment management, WarmerMedia did not allow the Studio to conclude a better deal with Netflix. In addition, the company loses a significant share of profits, limiting the rental (HBO Max is still available in only a few regions).

Denis Villeneuve, who hoped to turn Dune into a trilogy, is particularly outraged. The release on HBO Max does not leave him a chance to develop the franchise, so Legendary Entertainment threatens lawsuits and demands to abandon the hybrid rental model in favor of the usual one. According to insiders, Warner Bros. it may well make concessions in this case.

Here you need to understand one important thing. HBO Max is an outsider in the streaming war. The audience of the service is more than two times lower than that of Disney+, and WarnerMedia does not yet have its own "Mandalorian". It should be "Justice League" by Zack Snyder, which is still in production.

Stagnation poses a serious threat to the future OF AT&T (owned by WanrerMedia), which has invested huge amounts of money in HBO Max. The Corporation also has debts in excess of 150 million dollars.

Therefore, at&T CEO John Stankey is ready to go all-in, despite the threats from Hollywood bigwigs. After all, bad PR is also PR, and HBO Max really needs the public's attention.

Even Disney can't guarantee the profitability of its big movies through a hybrid model. This was shown by "Mulan", which barely beat off the budget. At the same time, the audience of Disney+ is significantly larger than that of HBO Max, and Mickey mouse introduced a premium subscription ($30) for access to the theatrical release.

However, streaming services are a hot topic in the financial markets. Although Disney reported a multibillion-dollar loss this fall, the company's stock has risen in value. Why? Because the dynamics of Hulu and Disney+ audience growth exceeded analysts ' expectations. The paradox is that streaming services are a long-term investment, but companies desperately need money here and now.

Therefore, Disney is not yet ready to follow the path of WarnerMedia, trying to save major Marvel films for cinemas. However, the transition to a new model is inevitable, and companies are restructuring the entire business, bringing forward the streaming divisions. In such circumstances, budget cuts are inevitable, because the model with films that should collect a billion dollars at the box office is not viable in a pandemic.