Warner Bros. will release his theatrical films exclusively in theaters again next year, Deadline reports. The decision ends the studio’s 2021 experiment to make major films such as Wonder Woman 1984, Godzilla teen Kong, Mortal Kombat, The suicide team, Dune, and The Matrix 4 simultaneously on its HBO Max streaming service and in theaters the first 30 days they are released.
The news comes as part of an announcement from Warner Bros. about a new deal with Regal cinema owner Cineworld, the second largest theater chain in the world. After more than six months of downtime, Regal’s theaters will reopen in April and they will start Warner Bros. movies like Kong teen Godzilla and Mortal Kombat along with their HBO Max debuts.
When Warner Bros. movies return to theaters in 2022, Regal theaters will once again have full exclusivity (without HBO Max or paid rental competition). But the exclusive window will be much shorter: Regal has only a 45-day exclusive window, half the standard of 90 days that has existed in recent years.
The shortened theater window is consistent with recent changes in other studios fueled by the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the film industry. Paramount recently announced similar 45-day windows for its films such as Mission: Impossible 7 and an even shorter window for 30 days for smaller titles. Universal has also signed similar deals with both AMC and Cinemark: films with openings less than $ 50 million domestically will fetch paid video services 17 days after their debut, while films with larger opening weekends can start 31 days after debut with paid rent.
Disney has also experimented with day and date premium releases through its Disney Plus Premiere Access program, which includes movies like Mulan and Raya and the last dragon early for an additional fee of $ 30.