Last week, it was announced that Warner Bros. would be simultaneously be releasing all of their upcoming movies from 2021 in theaters and the HBO Max streaming service. This announcement came out not long after it was revealed that Wonder Woman 1984 would be released on December 25 in theaters and on HBO Max. That means fans will no longer have to wait to see films such as Godzilla vs. Kong, The Matrix 4, In The Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Many people are thrilled that they can finally see movies again without the fear of experiencing another delay.

Not everyone was pleased by this news, particularly the filmmakers. Director Christopher Nolan, who directed Tenet, one of the very few blockbusters to be released in theaters during the COVID-19 pandemic, expressed sadness that theaters will not have as wide of an audience moving forward. Nolan also seems to be annoyed that he was not one of the people told prior to the announcement being made public. “There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone,” Nolan said. “In 2021, they’ve got some of the top filmmakers in the world, they’ve got some of the biggest stars in the world who worked for years in some cases on these projects very close to their hearts that are meant to be big-screen experiences. They’re meant to be out there for the widest possible audiences… And now they’re being used as a loss-leader for the streaming service — for the fledgling streaming service — without any consultation.” Nolan has been vocal about his dislike for the streaming service HBO Max. “Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service,” he quipped.

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It should be noted that many films were delayed partly due to Tenet underperforming in theaters. Films such as No Time to Die and Black Widow were delayed to 2021 due their studios’ of them failing at the box office.

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Adam Grunther

Article by Adam Grunther

Adam is a graduate of Lynn University with a BA in Drama. He has a passion for film and television.

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