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Warner Bros.’ HBO Max Move May Be ‘Nail in the Coffin’ for Struggling Movie Theaters

Warner Bros. shocking decision to release all of its 2021 films on HBO Max and in theaters simultaneously may have been prompted by unprecedented circumstances — the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down theaters worldwide, with full reopening postponed to some distant future. But what Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff called a “unique one-year plan” is creating fear of permanent changes to movie theaters that have been under strain even before this year. “It’s a nail in the coffin for theaters who have been vulnerable for a long time — you are witnessing the single biggest blow to cinema since COVID-19,” the Patriarch Organization CEO Eric Schiffer told TheWrap, noting that WarnerMedia parent AT&T “has made a business decision that the traditional movie experience is less important” than growing the company’s six-month-old streaming platform. Warner’s announcement includes likely blockbusters such as DC Films’ “The Suicide Squad,” the sci-fi remake “Dune” and “The Matrix 4” — and comes weeks after the studio announced a day-and-date Christmas Day release for “Wonder Woman 1984” that had already alarmed theaters. “What’s most surprising about this move is that it was made even before we could see how the ‘Wonder Woman’ experiment goes,” Boxoffice analyst...

Read original story Warner Bros.’ HBO Max Move May Be ‘Nail in the Coffin’ for Struggling Movie Theaters At TheWrap