Wonder Woman 1984 to Hit Theaters and HBO Max on Christmas

Movies

Almost a week ago, we told you that Warner Bros. was deciding what to do with Wonder Woman 1984. Today, they made a decision, and it’s slightly different from either of their previously discussed options. Keeping its Christmas Day release date, the superhero sequel will be available simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. In a statement, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar talked about the pandemic and wanting to give fans a choice (yeah, right), while Warner Media Studios and Networks Group CEO Ann Sarnoff spoke of trying to “super-serve our fans” (groan); director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot also gave statements. More importantly, Jenkins revealed to a fan that they plan to keep Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters for “quite a long time,” which hopefully will mean that it can still be seen on the big screen when theaters finally do open everywhere, including internationally.

I guess no matter what happened, Warner Bros.’ decision would be disappointing. This move comes as something of a surprise, but perhaps it shouldn’t; there aren’t enough theaters to open it in and make a profit at the moment, and if they hold off till next summer, they’ll lose still more money keeping their very expensive tent pole film on the shelf for another half a year – and that’s if the theaters are even open then. (I trust no one on this pandemic anymore.) So maybe they can at least use Wonder Woman 1984 to get some fence-sitters to subscribe to HBO Max. I’m glad they want to keep in theaters for a while, but I don’t think anyone without access to one is going to wait that long. One glance at YouTube’s home page will give away the whole movie by Boxing Day, so fans will likely want to make this their Christmas evening feature. None of this is Warner’s fault, of course, or anyone else involved, but despite how lackluster a release this is, it will be nice to have at least one big movie available to watch in 2020, even if it’s only in your living room.

Do you agree with Warner Bros.’ decision? How do you plan to watch Wonder Woman 1984? Is this a test run for future releases? Let us know in the comments and stick around Geeks + Gamers for more movie news!