NEW YORK – In the most seismic shift by a Hollywood studio yet during the pandemic, Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday announced that all of its 2021 film slate — including a new “Matrix” movie, “Godzilla vs.
Kong” and the Lin-Manuel Miranda adaptation “In the Heights” — will stream on HBO Max at the same time they play in theaters.Among the myriad release plan changes wrought by the pandemic, no studio has so fully embraced streaming as a lifeline.
But after disappointing domestic ticket sales for “Tenet," and with the majority of U.S. theaters currently closed, Warner Bros.
will turn to a hybrid distribution model. Films will debut simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in the U.S. After one month, they will stop streaming and continue.