Warner Bros. shook the market when they decided to go for day-and-date releases of all their 2021 films. While some directors have openly discussed their disappointment in the decision, it made sense given the uncertainty of how long the pandemic would continue to drag on. Now, we’re about to enter the next year, and Warner Bros. CEO, Ann Sarnoff, has opened up on if they had considered also tackling a similar release for 2022 even with the pandemic still an issue for many. When interviewed at a conference by Bloomberg Wednesday, she discussed how they are now committed to theatrical releases in the new year.
Have we thought about going back to day and date? Sure, we thought about it, but we have made our commitments to the theaters to the agents to the talent. Everyone was hoping we would be on the other side of the pandemic by now
The releases would affect projects like The Batman, which they are definitely expecting to fill out theaters once it releases in March. The Secret of Dumbledore, which continues the ever-popular Harry Potter franchise, will follow in April as both kick-offs a strong year for the company. As things are calming down somewhat, it’s great that studios are committing to once again promoting theatrical releases and ensure the media moving forward.
The good balance lies in the new release windows. Those that miss out on a theatrical release will get access to it on HBO Max within a faster time, a similar strategy we’ve seen Disney+ tackle with their releases like Encanto already going out during Christmas. It’ll be interesting to see how this new direction might change our understanding of cinema and streaming moving forward.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
