Warner Bros. announced late last year that, due to pandemic, their entire film slate of 2021 films would debut on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters, but a new report from Deadline claims that the studio might shift plans and only release Dune in theaters. This possible change of plans comes as a response to the opening of Godzilla vs. Kong this past weekend, where it took in $48.5 million in its five-day weekend, despite also being available on the streaming service. Deadline reported,
“It hasn’t been decided yet if Legendary’s other Warner Bros. title Dune will go day and date theatrical and on HBO Max. This is despite the fact that the latter streaming service keeps promoting it as part of their 2021 suite. The success of Godzilla vs. Kong this past weekend makes a clear argument in Legendary’s negotiations with Warner to keep that all-star sci-fi movie strictly in theaters.”
Denis Villeneuve, previously detailed how he not only specifically crafted the film to be seen on the big screen, but that any box office compromises could prevent the franchise from moving forward as he had planned on.
“Streaming services are a positive and powerful addition to the movie and TV ecosystems,”
“But I want the audience to understand that streaming alone can’t sustain the film industry as we knew it before COVID. Streaming can produce great content, but not movies of Dune’s scope and scale. Warner Bros.’ decision means Dune won’t have the chance to perform financially in order to be viable and piracy will ultimately triumph. Warner Bros. might just have killed the Dune franchise.”
Dune is currently slated to debut on October 1st.
