Warner Bros. films will debut exclusively in theaters again in 2022

Warner Bros. shocked the industry last year when the studio announced that the entirety of its 2021 movie lineup would be released into theaters and on HBO Max at the same time, as seen with movies like Wonder Woman 1984 and eventually with Dune, The Matrix 4 and more. But the move has paid off as HBO Max subscriptions have enjoyed a significant bump.

Now, as studios and theaters try to find a way back to normal, Warner Bros. has forged a new deal to bring its movies back to theaters in 2022, but there’s a catch. Deadline reports that the studio signed an exclusive deal with Regal Cinemas to return to theater-only distribution in 2022. Cineworld’s Regal chain will play Warner Bros. movies exclusively for 45 days before the movies can make the jump to HBO Max.

Thanks to the pandemic, studios with access to streaming platforms — like Warner Bros. with HBO Max and Disney with Disney+ — have been able to debut feature films directly to viewers at home while movie theaters have been closed. As theaters reopen, studios are looking ahead to the future and how they will manage theatrical releases.

Warner Bros. deal is the new normal for studios and movie theaters

Movie theaters struggled through the pandemic as they faced outright closure or reduced capacity. Movie theaters are starting to reopen worldwide at a greater pace as more people receive COVID-19 vaccines, and it sounds like there are fans showing up at the box office.

Despite theater reopenings, many studios are still opting to debut their 2021 movies using the same-day theatrical and SVOD release strategy because there are still lots of consumers who don’t feel comfortable returning to theaters just yet.

Warner Bros. shocked the industry when they announced that the entirety of their 2021 movie lineup would be released in a hybrid theater/at-home format, but it has been paying off as HBO Max subscriptions have enjoyed a significant bump as a result. The new WB deal with Cineworld is the way of the future, allowing movies their time to play theaters before debuting on streaming platforms.

Warner Bros.’ deal with Cineworld is the way of the future, allowing movies their time to play in theaters before debuting on streaming platforms.

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h/t IndieWire