Warner Bros 2021 Movies to Debut in Theater and on HBO Max at Same Time

[CarlJ]

Studios may end up regretting it, though. In the long run, will streaming revenue be enough to make up for what is lost from cinemas? In general, I don’t think customers are willing to pay quite as much for streaming content as they do for cinema tickets. Not the same experience.

This may mark a fundamental change in the movies that Hollywood produces / can produce. Can you put $200 million into a blockbuster if your entire potential audience has already paid their $15/mo per household (to be split between multiple releases that month)? No chance to get more money by getting them to come back to watch again, no word of mouth / hype getting more people into the theater - you’re basically capping your movie’s potential revenue at $15 per household, or maybe $7.50, or $5, if they watch other movies that come out that month.

It may also mean studios, say, not dropping more than one movie a month (like at the start of summer, or holiday season), because they want to spread out the profits over multiple months.

But, in any case, this may spell doom for, say, future Marvel-like movies, if it just doesn’t pay to make them with as large of budgets as they have been doing previously.

 

[sw1tcher]

I actually bought it to support them more than about watching it. I don't regret it.

Disney in need of support? 🤣

 

[lkalliance]

Films not being in the cinema makes them kinda disposable, I miss going to the cinema

I agree with this. Going to the theater makes moviegoing an event. It's somewhere not in your home, without the everyday distractions in your home. You may go to the movies with the same person all the time, but the cross-section of the community you're having the experience with is different each time; at home whether you're watching One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (as noted by another poster) or The Avengers, it's the same crowd, and no ambient energy: you've got to bring it all yourself.

Over the past few years, movie theaters seem to be trying to become more like our living rooms: comfy reclining chairs, expanded dining options, getting waited on in the theater. I don't want the theater to become more like a living room. I already have a living room. I do other things in the living room too. I watch sitcoms, I play with the dog, I talk on the phone, a variety of things. At the theater I do none of those things: that's what makes it special.


EDIT: Oh, and I'll be sorry to miss seeing Godzilla vs. Kong in the theater, assuming it has come and gone before I feel safe going out to the movies again. I've been waiting for it since 2017!

EDIT TO THE EDIT: I suppose at some level I've been waiting for it since I was a kid!

 

[cgs1xx]

best news of the year! welcome to the future!

I love going to the cinema but it’s an experience that has largely been dying a slow death... it’s just not what it used to be; screens are getting smaller, sound is basic or not loud enough, air con is never what you want it to be, too many people, distractions, rats, bugs, dirty toilets etc etc

Hopefully this is for the long run! fingers crossed.

 

[Reason077]

best news of the year! welcome to the future!

I love going to the cinema but it’s an experience that has largely been dying a slow death... it’s just not what it used to be; screens are getting smaller, sound is basic or not loud enough, air con is never what you want it to be, too many people, distractions, rats, bugs, dirty toilets etc etc

Yikes. Rats? Bugs?! I think you need to find better cinemas! At least around here (London), I'd say the cinema experience is massively better than it was even 5-10 years ago. Lots of cinemas - pretty much all of the big chain ones - upgraded with better seating, much bigger screens, better audio, better food & drink offerings, etc. The smaller independents that haven't upgraded usually offer cheap ticket prices and other enticements like good local craft beer

Some, like IMAX etc, have truly enormous screens and amazing audio that most of us are never going to replicate at home.

 

[CarlJ]

I love going to the cinema but it’s an experience that has largely been dying a slow death... it’s just not what it used to be; screens are getting smaller, sound is basic or not loud enough, air con is never what you want it to be, too many people, distractions, rats, bugs, dirty toilets etc etc

Wow, OMG, you are clearly going to the wrong theaters.

 

[cjake]

If you don't currently have a HBO Max subscription, and don't have a phone or cable provider that gets you access, HBO Max has a 20% discount promotion this month when you prepay for 6 months. $69.99 in total instead of the full $14.99 price per month.

Max | The One to Watch

Stream iconic series, hit movies, fresh originals, family favorites, breaking news, and live sports. Plans start at $9.99/month.

www.hbomax.com

 

[topdrawer]

i wasn't planning on getting hbomax and i ended up with 3 subscriptions because it is bundled in my phone plan, my partner's phone plan, and his internet plan. but so far hbomax is what i've been watching the most.

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you don't currently have a HBO Max subscription, and don't have a phone or cable provider that gets you access, HBO Max has a 20% discount promotion this month when you prepay for 6 months. $69.99 in total instead of the full $14.99 price per month.

Max | The One to Watch

Stream iconic series, hit movies, fresh originals, family favorites, breaking news, and live sports. Plans start at $9.99/month.

www.hbomax.com

That is a pretty good deal for those in said need.

 

[mdatwood]

Except that regardless of where you get your music - traditional store, iTunes, etc. - doesn't fundamentally change your listening experience. Watching a streaming movie at home is very different from a theater.

Very different as in much better. I haven't been to a theater in years and even then it was only because I really didn't want to wait to see the movie.

In my case, with AT&T Fiber including HBO Max, it's not even $5/mo. Score!

Yeah! I was surprised when they included this one day. It's an awesome 'free' addon.

 

[KrispE00]

Just give us 4K! You’re slacking AT&T

 

[Apple_Robert]

Very different as in much better. I haven't been to a theater in years and even then it was only because I really didn't want to wait to see the movie.


Yeah! I was surprised when they included this one day. It's an awesome 'free' addon.

I was taking to my dad who mentioned he got this free add-on with his AT&T Fiber U-Verse the other day. He said it is free but he had to pay tax on it?

 

[rjohnstone]

Anyone thinking this is the future of movies is kidding themselves. A multi BILLION dollar industry is not going to flip to a nickel and dime streaming platform. Not in its current form anyway.
If it ever did, subscriptions will be in the $100+ per month range.

Warner Bros/HBO are trying to keep revenue coming in, even if it means enticing subscribers with first run movies.
Theatrical releases are bust right now, but this model will never go beyond the pandemic.
As I said earlier, the movie industry can make more in a holiday weekend than any streaming service makes in an entire year.

 

[Dimwhit]

I feel bad for the theaters. They've served us all well. But I haven't enjoyed the cinema experience for quite some time. Probably 15-20 years. I'd much rather watch at home, so I love this. The long-term ramifications will be interesting to see.

 

[deeddawg]

I was taking to my dad who mentioned he got this free add-on with his AT&T Fiber U-Verse the other day. He said it is free but he had to pay tax on it?

I don't know the U-verse setup but it's quite possible that product is subject to some local/state tax in his jurisdiction.

In my case I have just the AT&T Fiber Internet service - which is not taxed in my state/county. With whatever promo I'm on I have a flat $50/mo bill. That's it.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I don't know the U-verse setup but it's quite possible that product is subject to some local/state tax in his jurisdiction.

In my case I have just the AT&T Fiber Internet service - which is not taxed in my state/county. With whatever promo I'm on I have a flat $50/mo bill. That's it.

Without naming the state, I believe you and I are in the same state. I will get him to look over the details of the email he got again to make sure.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Anyone thinking this is the future of movies is kidding themselves. A multi BILLION dollar industry is not going to flip to a nickel and dime streaming platform. Not in its current form anyway.
If it ever did, subscriptions will be in the $100+ per month range.

Warner Bros/HBO are trying to keep revenue coming in, even if it means enticing subscribers with first run movies.
Theatrical releases are bust right now, but this model will never go beyond the pandemic.
As I said earlier, the movie industry can make more in a holiday weekend than any streaming service makes in an entire year.

I suppose we all will see how this pans out long term. I know Regal Cinema is no more. And they aren’t the first chain to close due to the pandemic.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I'm guessing that Sky/NowTV carry the existing HBO programming on Sky Atlantic due to previously signed contracts pre the sale to AT&T.
Anything new for the platform will be fair game & AT&T will be looking to exit existing deals and go it alone with their own app/model, that's what I'd be doing, cutting out the middle man and taking all the profits.

I don't think this is going to be the case for countries like the UK and Germany, where SKY is available. In fact, they just renewed their exclusivity contract with HBO / Warner earlier this year.

This is going to lead to a lot of piracy because on one hand, it will be shown at the cinema* but due to COVID-19 a lot of countries have their theatre shut down for the foreseeable future, while it will end up online from a HBO Max stream.

HBO have a deal with Sky which covers the UK, Germany and Italy which ends in 2024 so they won’t be launching in any of those countries before then. Of course, it won’t really matter as I’m sure there will be UHD rips available day one, same as there are now for all of the popular Disney shows.

Still a lot of countries to launch in from day 1...whenever that is.

And the atricle says they'll "replace HBO's European services" beginning 2021. Now if that means just the countries that have some form of HBO service (like HBO Nordic) or it means every kind of deal they have, like the one they have with Sky, I don't know.

 

[deeddawg]

I feel bad for the theaters. They've served us all well. But I haven't enjoyed the cinema experience for quite some time. Probably 15-20 years. I'd much rather watch at home, so I love this. The long-term ramifications will be interesting to see.

Indeed - theaters have also served as a teen gathering locale on weekends and such - so there would still be that market to be served in some manner. Places like Studio Movie Grill are tapping into liquor/food revenue streams while providing more of an experience. The industry was already adapting pre-COVID, what the net impacts will be remain TBD.

Anyone thinking this is the future of movies is kidding themselves. A multi BILLION dollar industry is not going to flip to a nickel and dime streaming platform. Not in its current form anyway.
If it ever did, subscriptions will be in the $100+ per month range.

Perhaps. Though at one time Blockbuster was a $5.9 Billion in revenue company. The last one is now an AirBnB.

We shall see what the future holds - Netflix, which Blockbuster had a chance to buy for $50M, topped $20Bn revenue last year. - apparently those nickels and dimes add up.

In the end, studios need an outlet for people to buy their product - movie theaters had been that, but the industry was already changing due to streaming services. The next few years should be interesting. It won't be black-and-white - but it also won't be the same.

 

[deeddawg]

Without naming the state, I believe you and I are in the same state. I will get him to look over the details of the email he got again to make sure.

The U-verse television part may be throwing things off if it's being classed as a "cable television" service and the HBO Max is viewed through that service.

Although I have AT&T Fiber internet, my "television" is via youtubetv which doesn't get classed as cable, and thus also is a service not subject to sales tax here in GA.

 

[notabadname]

Affordable large screen tv and the money people have spent to upgrade their “home theaters” makes this a wise investment. The theater experience simply needs to become a truly premium experience. Charge more, but have truly comfortable seats, more space - legit adult beverages, food. Paying $25 per person for a ticket, a Coke, and splitting a popcorn, is not helping people see value in driving to the theater. Theater needs to reinvent itself.

 

[ZipZilla]

Yes, this is the beginning of the end of the big budget blockbusters. Now we will see low-budget streaming content. Cheesy acting, etc.

 

[GuruZac]

This will not be temporary solution. Theaters are dead, Streaming platforms are the winners.

Yeah it’s kind of a bummer. I think the only theaters that will survive will be the boutique ones that offer dining and alcohol. It’s an entire experience. Not cheap, but neither is going to see a movie, getting popcorn and a drink. You’re $50 for two people. That and the lack of self-awareness of so many people who talk during movies are why I stopped going to theaters a while ago.

 

[MisterSavage]

I feel bad for the theaters. They've served us all well. But I haven't enjoyed the cinema experience for quite some time. Probably 15-20 years. I'd much rather watch at home, so I love this. The long-term ramifications will be interesting to see.

I'm in the same boat. I feel bad for people that love going to theaters but I gave up on it years ago. Ads before trailers, too many trailers, stupid concession prices, incredibly rude people, stepping on people when you need to exit for a restroom break, etc just took the joy out of moviegoing for me. I'm excited by this announcement.

When I'm on vacation visiting family there is a place that has drawn me back to theaters. The rooms are small, limiting the number of people to be distractions, you reserve your seat, you get a reclining chair with tons of elbow space, and the food is good/reasonably priced. I can see places like that making a comeback if the virus gets under control.

 

[960design]

Nothing will beat the big screen experience but while we are stuck home might as well make the most of it. Theaters will return

My family feels our home "big screen" experience surpasses even IMAX.
I'm running a 75" 4K, big couch sitting 7feet away, head is about 8-9feet away from screen with dolby atmos running through an Onkyo. It is amazing! Popcorn tastes better, no loud people in front ( except the dogs sometimes ).