A better move would be to allow Studios to own theaters. But given current law I think your view is actually consistent and novel.
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Warner Bros 2021 Movies to Debut in Theater and on HBO Max at Same Time
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I actually bought it to support them more than about watching it. I don't regret it.
I don't see why they should be. It was stated that fee was for early viewing before it was released later on D+ as part of your regular sub
So what are WB's plans for international releases, with cinemas in many parts of the world still not open? That hardly counts as "not affected."
Not all studios are going to let go that easily. Digital releases have shown they can make 2x ROI on the big budget films...not the 5-10x that they used to on majorly successful theater runs.
That's a paradigm shift that will not go down easily. Big budget films have huge partners and all kinds of shady deals and points that are lurking in the background. For a AAA film that costs 200 million to make and earns 400 million instead of 1.2 Billion...that's a huge loss despite the profit.
It might not be as easy to secure 200 million+ to make big budget movies without those huge promised returns.
I realize this is a little bit off topic, however I find it very sad how little 4K content is available right now via streaming services and we are almost into 2021. I've had 4K TV's for years and now we are seeing 8K TV's getting cheaper all the time, yet the vast majority of content offered from streaming services is still 1080p. Pretty pathetic if you ask me.
FYI, I read yesterday that Wonder Woman 1984 (streaming Dec 25th) will be the first 4K release on HBO Max, and that they intend to roll out more 4k content over next year. I'm assuming that also means any of the new movies. Not having Matrix 4 or Dune in 4k would be, well, dumb.
Amazon seems to have been adding quite a lot of 4K content lately. Including a lot for free streaming with Prime. A search for "4K UHD" on Amazon Prime Video UK just now returned 870 results (films and TV series), 139 of which are included with Prime.
As someone who:
1. Hates going to theaters with a passion.
2. Has championed the idea of same-day digital rentals for many, many years.
..this concerns me greatly.
It is one thing to put it on Apple TV to rent for $39, that at least has a prayer of maintaining some sense of value in the content, and can make some money back on the project.
But to essentially give it away on HBO Max for whatever nominal fee HBO paid for the rights (which you know can't be much since they aren't charging extra for it)...this significantly devalues brand new content, in some cases big budget content. The end result is not "Oh cool we get free stuff". That's not how it works. You'll get free stuff now. Later you'll get low budget free stuff, or nothing at all, because no one is going to budget $200 million dollars to make projects that are given away at a loss or even break even prices.
1. Hates going to theaters with a passion.
2. Has championed the idea of same-day digital rentals for many, many years.
..this concerns me greatly.
It is one thing to put it on Apple TV to rent for $39, that at least has a prayer of maintaining some sense of value in the content, and can make some money back on the project.
But to essentially give it away on HBO Max for whatever nominal fee HBO paid for the rights (which you know can't be much since they aren't charging extra for it)...this significantly devalues brand new content, in some cases big budget content. The end result is not "Oh cool we get free stuff". That's not how it works. You'll get free stuff now. Later you'll get low budget free stuff, or nothing at all, because no one is going to budget $200 million dollars to make projects that are given away at a loss or even break even prices.
I have to wonder what they are smoking in the exec offices at ATT.
HBOMAX was a strange name to start with - it is not HBO plus Cinemax that some thought. Okay..
ONLY available via streaming, so their Directv folks got left out.
Not available on Roku - the #1 streaming device.
HBOMAX was a strange name to start with - it is not HBO plus Cinemax that some thought. Okay..
ONLY available via streaming, so their Directv folks got left out.
Not available on Roku - the #1 streaming device.
Right, the majority of the 4K UHD content that is available you have to pay extra for, the same as buying a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc. Even so, 870 results for 4K content total via Amazon is sad being that it is almost 2021, in my opinion anyway. At the very least, all regular TV/Cable programs should be available to stream in 4K by now.
The problem with 4k streaming is they kill the bitrate. So I have 4k resolution and terrible color. Give me the option to locally download a near Blu-ray quality download instead of trying to stream something.
Here you go:
WONDER WOMAN 1984 To Debut On HBO Max In 4K Ultra HD, HDR 10, Dolby Vision And Dolby Atmos | Pressroom
And here's the press release for the new announcement:
I'm fairly certain this is a temporary arrangement due to the pandemic. Theatrical revenue is way down, and the theatrical release of Tenet was disappointing financially. With this approach, they at least get the HBO Max subscription fees and win new subscribers. Note that they have removed the free trial, and the new movies will only stream for 30 days (so you can't wait and then binge all the movies within a month).
Theaters will probably be back in a year or so once people feel safe in indoor crowds again. Can't very well take a date to HBO Max (well, at least not on the first
).
It's their own content to devalue if they chose. HBO is owned by WB, the producer of WW1984. That said, I don't believe they would do it if they were not going to make money. A lot of these films have already been completed many months ago and sitting on the sidelines waiting, which is actually losing them $$. Wonder Woman is a perfect example of that.
Doing this will most likely increase the amount of subscribers to the service which will increase their revenue. Even more so if some of the subscribers stay on for multiple months. Right now, there simply isn't much $$ to be made releasing a new movie to the theatres alone since a lot of them are either closed, or no one is going anyway. Hopefully that will change soon but for now, I think this is an excellent decision from Warner.
Oh f**k yeah! Thanks (you and others who mentioned this) for driving me to the Google machine to confirm.FYI, I read yesterday that Wonder Woman 1984 (streaming Dec 25th) will be the first 4K release on HBO Max, and that they intend to roll out more 4k content over next year. I'm assuming that also means any of the new movies. Not having Matrix 4 or Dune in 4k would be, well, dumb.
Can't agree more: woulda been dumb not to 😁
Darth Tulhu
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The problem is that, given that they're enclosed spaces where you'd potentially be next to someone infected, means it might be me that doesn't survive the theater trip. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is.
I just bought an 85" 4k 120hz TV. My theater-going days are numbered, even with the vaccine coming.
Although the issue is spoilers; I remember thinking I could wait to watch Avengers: Endgame when it came out on disc.
My kids angrily dragged me to the theater, and I'm glad they did.
I think that's a hard question to answer. Here's my view as a dad of 3 kids under 11 and I have not stepped inside a movie theater since The Matrix came out 20+ years ago. Before The Matrix I probably walked into a theater once every other year since 1988.
On the one hand, the movie experience is better for me/us at home. No noisy/disrespectful patrons, the couch is far more comfy, the food here is 1/10th the price, and the food here is far better, we have a nice A/V setup, we can buy/watch/rent anything we want any time of day, and over the past 15 years the average middle class home has a great tv and okay sound-setup. Your mileage may vary since theaters have tried desperately the past 10 years to improve their seating, food, and displays to get you back. Overall the experience is far better at home because I'm not paying $15/person for each movie, highway robbery food prices, the limited viewing times, the limited amount of weeks that a movie is in the theater, and the often sold-out movies/movie times.
On the other hand, as I said, theaters (in New England) have really worked hard to offer far more food choices, quality of food, add wait staff, better (and stadium) seating, and better A/V equipment. I believe they've also reduced ticket prices, but it's still a lot of money for a family of 4-5 to go to the movies including food. Each trip is probably $100.
But my ship sailed 30 years ago with the all the headaches and price gouging and the real nail in the coffin for me was mass availability of movies on dvd in 1999 for $10-$17 and then Netflix dvd-by-mail.
You'd be waiting about 30 years for a movie to be $1.00 on Apple or Amazon.
Rentals are usually about $7 for anything good that's less than a few years old. I often just buy the movie when it's $11.99 or less. Every few weeks Apple updates their Movies area with some great deals.
I think people hear “vaccine approvals imminent” and think that means everyone will have it in a month. It’s going to take a lot longer before the vaccines are produced and distributed in large enough quantities to get everyone vaccinated, and then more time to work out that it’s actually keeping people safe in crowds, and then longer still before people are comfortable sitting shoulder to shoulder in the theaters, ... and then a bunch of people, will have decided they prefer their home theater over the cinema.
(This is not even taking into account the small contingent of morons who will refuse to take the vaccine - if it were possible to brand their foreheads with a giant “L” so people know to stay away, I might be able to get behind that idea.)
It’s a shame, I really miss the classic cinema experience - watching Star Wars on a 40 foot tall screen with a thousand other people cheering when the Millenium Falcon returns is a shared experience that can’t be duplicated at home no matter how good your equipment is.
And economically, I don’t see how just adding them HBO Max can work out - trading multiple $15-$20 tickets per household for $15/mo. I can’t tell if this is viable, or just making the best of a terrible situation. And if it’s not viable, it will end badly, because people will get used to the idea that first-run blockbuster movies should be “free” (no added charge on top of your subscription), and they won’t be able to go back. Kind of like how the public “learned” that software “should” only cost 99 cents.