'Wonder Woman 1984' reportedly in talks to skip theatrical release
The new Wonder Woman 1984 movie is set for a June release but according to The Wrap, it might be launching directly on streaming services.
Warner Pictures Group Chairman Toby Emmerich and advertisers are reportedly discussing completely ditching a theatrical release amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
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Movie theatres across the world are shutting down with large gatherings being banned or discouraged globally.
Numerous films are already being postponed or sent from theatres to streaming services.
Trolls World Tour is one such film moving from theatres to streaming services and is being offered for rental on iTunes, Amazon and VUDU at $19.99 lasting 48 hours. The film, which features Ozzy Osbourne as the character Thrash, was set for theatrical release on April 10 but will now be streaming on that day. Lead actor Anna Kendrick shared a tweet commending the move.
This makes me ❤️?????
I’m so happy we can spread the joy while everyone stays safe ????
You can see TROLLS WORLD TOUR on its original release date, to rent in your own home ☺️☺️
I’ll see you all April 10th! https://t.co/1kfXTaGJF4
— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) March 16, 2020
The discussions to move the DC film directly to streaming sites are preliminary at the moment. According to Warner insiders who spoke to The Wrap, the preference is still to have a theatrical release. If it were to go to streaming services, it would likely be through WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service which is launching in May.
Director Patty Jenkins and producer Charles Roven reportedly would like to see the film arrive in theatres in August. With the amount of uncertainty surrounding when things will re-open though, everything is up in the air.
The insiders speaking with The Wrap say there are not financial models yet determining if this would greatly impact the outcome of the film.
In their report though, Warner President of Domestic Distribution Jeff Goldstein says that there have not been any streaming discussions.
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“We’re looking to release the movie theatrically, that’s our plan,” he says. An individual close to the film confirmed that Jenkins has had no discussions with the studio about a streaming option.
Further, Roven says a streaming-only release shouldn’t be considered.
“It’s ludicrous if you consider how big a movie this is,” he says. “Everybody recognizes that, as interesting as streaming might be, if you want a huge, global worldwide box office, you’ve got to release it in a movie theater.”
While some movies are streaming instead of hitting theatres, Wonder Woman 1984 is a big movie to release this way. The original film was the highest-grossing film by a solo female director, and was the 10th highest-grossing film of that year.
With the success of the first film, Wonder Woman 1984 was expecting to pull in around $1 billion globally.
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Roven says in the report that a decision will be held off from being made until the last moment possible.
“There may come a time we have to make that decision. But why not stay here as long as we can and hope for the best?” he says. “I don’t think it would be prudent to make a move until take all factors have been taken into consideration.”
The film was initially pushed back in 2018 to be released this year. Producer Steve Weintraub spoke to Collider explaining the move at the time.
“The studio felt that until their slate for the year before came together—and they had an amazing end of 2018—that they needed to have a big what I call aircraft carrier, a “tentpole”, in [2019],” he explained. “We had a very rushed pre-production because Patty also did the TNT show and we had a very rushed post-production schedule in order to make the date that we were on, which was November 1, 2019.”
What do you think of Wonder Woman 1984 possibly being released directly on streaming platforms? Let us know in the comments below.
