'Wonder Woman 1984' Will Hit Theaters And HBO Max On Christmas Day
Big, surprising news: Warner Bros. will now debut Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and on HBO Max on Christmas Day. This news came seemingly by accident when a trailer was released revealing the HBO Max date. The trailer was then pulled, but director Patty Jenkins has confirmed the news as well. The superhero movie again stars Gal Gadot and is one of the most highly anticipated films of this year.
UPDATE: The trailer is now back online.
The original story continues below.
The future of the theatrical experience remains in doubt due to the coronavirus. And now, one of the year's remaining big movies is headed to streaming. A trailer dropped, then was quickly pulled, revealing that Wonder Woman 1984 was headed to both theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day. And while the trailer is now gone, Variety is confirming the news as well. Per their report:
Wonder Woman 1984 is heading to HBO Max and movie theaters on the same day. The superhero sequel, from Warner Bros., is still expected to debut in the U.S. on Christmas Day. Internationally, where HBO Max is not available, "Wonder Woman 1984" will play in theaters. The exact release date overseas is unknown.
The official press release from HBO Max states that the film "will be released simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming platform in the U.S. on December 25, while debuting theatrically in international markets a week earlier starting on December 16. The film will be available for a month on HBO Max in the U.S. included at no additional cost to subscribers."
Patty Jenkins has confirmed the news as well:
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) November 18, 2020
"As we navigate these unprecedented times, we've had to be innovative in keeping our businesses moving forward while continuing to super-serve our fans," said Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, which includes Warner Bros. Pictures. "This is an amazing film that really comes to life on the big screen and, working with our partners in the exhibition community, we will provide that option to consumers in the U.S. where theaters are open. We realize that a lot of consumers can't go back to the movies due to the pandemic, so we also want to give them the option to see Wonder Woman 1984 via our HBO Max platform."
"We appreciate how patient audiences have been and given the great anticipation around Wonder Woman 1984 we are grateful to be able to make this terrifically entertaining movie widely available in these challenging times," added Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
After Christopher Nolan's Tenet failed to live up to Warner Bros.' expectations when it was released theatrically this past summer, you could sense the studio shifting most of its hopes onto Wonder Woman 1984 to bring them home in a big way and close out the year on a high note. But once they planted that flag on a Christmas release date, WB became reluctant to announce another delay. Other films, including Sony's Ghostbusters: Afterlife – which was scheduled to arrive in March 2021, three months after WW84 – continued to leap even farther down the timeline in the hopes that their new dates would stick. But Wonder Woman just sat there, waiting on its inevitable move like a kid whose parent takes a new job across the country.
Warner Bros. already moved their upcoming star-studded Dune out of this year's December slot, and everyone was assuming that Wonder Woman 1984 would follow. But now it looks like WB executives decided to try to have their cake and eat it too by releasing the film in theaters and on streaming at the same time. This is a bit of a change of pace since earlier this year director Patty Jenkins said: "Direct to streaming is not even being discussed. We are still 100% behind the theatrical experience for WW84 and supporting our beloved theater business."
One can't help but wonder if this is the start of a new trend for big movies, or if this is going to be an exception to the rule.
Here's the movie's official synopsis:
Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman's next big screen adventure finds her facing an all-new foe: The Cheetah. As previously announced, the film also stars Kristen Wiig in the role of the Super-Villain The Cheetah, as well as Pedro Pascal. Chris Pine also returns as Steve Trevor.