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Warner Bros. is not continuing its HBO Max release strategy next year.

The company will return to releasing their films exclusively in theaters in 2022, Deadline reported Tuesday (March 23).

The decision follows the studio’s experimental 2021 choice to release all of their major films like Wonder Woman 1984, Godzilla vs. Kong, Dune, and The Matrix 4 simultaneously on HBO Max for the first 30 days they’re released alongside theaters.

The news also comes as part of an announcement from Warner Bros. of a new deal with Cineworld, the second largest theater chain in the world. Regal’s theaters will reopen in April, and will show Warner Bros. films like Kong vs. Godzilla and Mortal Kombat alongside the HBO Max debuts.

Regal theaters will once again have full exclusivity in theaters in 2022, with no HBO Max or streaming competition for 45 days, half of the 90-day standard that existed before the pandemic. Head to Deadline.com for more on the deal.

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It looks like fans will still be able to watch Godzilla vs. Kong from the comfort of their own homes on the same day the movie hits theaters.

Warner Bros. previously announced that the studio’s entire 2021 film slate would premiere on the streaming service HBO Max on their theatrical release dates, but this angered many movie stars and filmmakers because of the loss of potential profits.

THR is reporting that Warner Bros. is nearing a deal with Legendary Entertainment, the production company that financed most of Godzilla vs. Kong‘s massive $200 million budget.

“Legendary is still negotiating with talent on Godzilla but that is not expected to derail a deal. The movie will keep its May 21 release date in theaters, including IMAX, as well as HBO Max,” the outlet reported.

Legendary is also the production company behind the movie Dune, which was also announced to be getting an HBO Max release. That deal is expected to be more complicated and details are not yet known.

A new report is revealing all of the exciting movies and TV shows that Warner Bros. is preparing for the DC Comics Extended Universe.

DC Films president Walter Hamada spoke to the New York Times for a feature this weekend in which the plans were unveiled.

The report says that starts in 2022, fans can expect up to four DC movies to be released in theaters every year and two additional DC movies will be released annually on HBO Max.

“The most expensive DC movies are designed for release in theaters,” the report said. Movies “focused on riskier characters like Batgirl and Static Shock” will arrive exclusively on the streaming service.

DC Films is also working on developing TV series that will run on HBO Max and be connected to the big-screen movies. Hamada said, “With every movie that we’re looking at now, we are thinking, ‘What’s the potential Max spinoff?’”

Click inside for the upcoming DC Comics movies… More Here! »

If you plan on watching Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max, or any other Warner Bros. movie coming out in 2021, make sure to do it right away!

When Warner Bros. announced earlier this month that the studio’s entire 2021 film slate would be released on HBO Max the same day as the theatrical release, one detail didn’t get that much attention.

All of the movies, including Wonder Woman 1984, will only be available on HBO Max for 31 days. After that one-month period, the films will continue to play exclusively in theaters until they reach the traditional home entertainment period. At that point, the movies will be available to rent on iTunes, Amazon, and other digital retailers. It’s not known if the movies will return to HBO Max at any point.

So, that being said, make sure to watch each movie within 31 days of their release!

Click inside for the full list of movies being released on HBO Max… More Here! »

Judd Apatow is calling out Warner Bros.

After the studio revealed that they’ll be releasing their entire slate of 2021 releases via HBO Max, the King of Staten Island director spoke out against the decision as part of Variety‘s Virtual FYC Fest.

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During the appearance, he discussed how his Universal film The King of Staten Island skipped theaters amid the pandemic and went straight to premium video-on-demand in June.

“It was a very respectful conversation about how to get the movie out there,” he said.

“The only thing I really have to give to the human race is something pleasant at a time like this that might make you feel happy and appreciate the people that are risking their lives for you.”

However, he said watching the Warner Bros. decision “certainly made me appreciate Universal.”

“It’s somewhat shocking that a studio for their entire slate could call what appears to be nobody. It’s the type of disrespect that you hear about in the history of show business. But to do that to just every single person that you work with is really somewhat stunning,” he said.

He also discussed how he and Universal worked out compensation before his movie went to PVOD, which was different from switching movies that were meant for theatrical distribution to a streaming service.

“It creates a financial nightmare, because most people are paid residuals — they’re paid back-end points. What they get out of it for years and years of hard work is usually based on the success of their films. And so now what does it mean to have a movie go straight to streaming? How do they decide what to pay you? Do you even have a contract that allows you to negotiate, or is it really just up to them at this point? It raises thousands of questions, which I’m sure are very complicated.”

The Dune director similarly has spoken out against the decision.

Denis Villeneuve, the director of the upcoming Dune remake, is not happy that Warner Bros. plans on releasing his movie on HBO Max on the same day as the theatrical release.

The 53-year-old director, who is Oscar-nominated for his movie Arrival, wrote an op-ed piece for Variety in which he slammed the studio for the move.

Denis also said he learned about the studio’s decision by reading it in the news along with the rest of the world.

“I learned in the news that Warner Bros. has decided to release Dune on HBO Max at the same time as our theatrical release, using prominent images from our movie to promote their streaming service. With this decision AT&T has hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history. There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here,” Denis said in his statement.

He added, “Warner Bros.’ sudden reversal from being a legacy home for filmmakers to the new era of complete disregard draws a clear line for me. Filmmaking is a collaboration, reliant on the mutual trust of team work and Warner Bros. has declared they are no longer on the same team.”

Denis called Dune “by far the best movie” he’s ever made and he believes that Warner Bros. “might just have killed the Dune franchise” with this decision.

Learn about the action that the producer of Dune might be taking against Warner Bros.

You can read the full piece on Variety.com.

Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind movies like Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong, reportedly is considering filing a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over the studio’s new release plans for the movies.

The studio recently revealed that its entire 2021 slate, including Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong, will be released on the streaming service HBO Max on the same day they are put in theaters.

Variety reports that Legendary, which co-financed the big budget movies, was “largely kept out of the loop” about the plans.

The report says that Legendary is “hoping to first negotiate a more generous deal, but isn’t taking legal action off the table should the two companies fail to come to a compromise.” There’s a possibility that Warner Bros. might buy the films from Legendary, but if that doesn’t happen, breach of contract could become an issue.

Find out which high-profile director just slammed Warner Bros. and called HBO Max the “worst streaming service.”