First, Disney released Mulan straight to streaming. Now WarnerMedia is following suit with Wonder Woman 1984, although it’s not charging a $30 fee to watch.
Welp, it happened. After mulling over its options for a while, WarnerMedia has decided to release Wonder Woman 1984 — a highly anticipated superhero tentpole film that was originally supposed to come out in June — straight to its streaming service HBO Max. That was a move many saw coming. What with theaters still largely shuttered thanks to COVID-19, it was either this or delay the movie yet again into the new year, like the studio did with Dune.
But wait: Warner Bros. is releasing Wonder Woman 1984 on both HBO Max and in theaters! That’s a new one!
Yep, come December 25, you’ll be able to stream Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max or see it in theaters…provided there’s a theater near you that’s open and you don’t mind risking your health by sitting in a poorly ventilated room for two house in close proximity to strangers. Basically, HBO Max is the only good option here.
And that’s good for the service, which has lagged behind competitors like Disney+ since it came out earlier this year. Disney+ has also released one of its tentpole films straight to streaming: Mulan came out back in September. But there, it charged a $30 fee to watch the movie on top of the subscription fee people were already paying. Come Christmas Day, HBO Max subscribers can watch Wonder Woman 1984 for no extra charge.
This is an odd move — WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar calls it “unprecedented” a couple of times in a statement he wrote — but really, in the age of coronavirus, every move is an odd move. Studios have never been in this situation before. By making Wonder Woman 1984 available on both streaming and in theaters, WarnerMedia is hoping to serve people who don’t want to risk going to the cinema and help theater chains stay afloat. The choice is yours, but for the love of Hera, if you choose to go to the theater, be careful.
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