Warner Brothers announced yesterday that all the movies on its 2021 release schedule will hit HBO Max the same day they hit theaters. They'll be available on the streaming service for no extra charge, but only for 31 days.
That's 17 films in all, including"Godzilla vs. Kong","The Matrix 4","The Suicide Squad","Dune","Space Jam: A New Legacy","Tom & Jerry","Mortal Kombat", "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It", and the"Sopranos" prequel,"The Many Saints of Newark".
Warner Brothers said it's trying to guarantee, quote, "as many movies as we could for the year for the global theatrical marketplace."
They also don't think it'll hurt theater attendance because, quote, "We think where theaters are open, and consumers can go, that a lot of people will choose to go to the theater, especially for big movies."
Still, theater chains were caught off guard, and AMC just enterednegotiationswith them.