‘Godzilla vs. Kong likely to keep launching in cinema and on HBO Max – Deadline

As we said for the first time last month, Legendary and Warner Bros are about to end their fight for Godzilla vs. Kong, the fourth monster film between the two, which the first financed the production of more than $ 200 million at 75%, with the film maintaining its simultaneous release date in the cinema and on HBO Max on May 21.

Meanwhile, an agreement on whether Denis Villeneuve Dune goes to the movies and the day-to-day of HBO Max is still being discussed between WarnerMedia and Legendary. This film currently has a release date of October 1st.

Legendary was among several producers who were angry when WarnerMedia made its surprise announcement on December 3 that it would put its entire 2021 theatrical release schedule in both theaters and on the difficult HBO Max streaming service. WarnerMedia said that everything was because of the pandemic; still, many scratched their heads, as pending vaccines are likely to end Covid’s cases, hopefully in time for a summer film season.

Warners blocked a deal for Legendary to sell the film directed by Adam Wingard Godzilla vs. Kong to Netflix for $ 225 million, and sources confirm to Deadline that the producer / financier was determined to argue in court that WarnerMedia was treating itself by placing the film directly on HBO Max.

By choosing to take his day-to-day cinema to HBO Max, WarnerMedia has had numerous conversations with agents to compensate for the respective talents involved in the studio’s films. The studio made a deal on the bonuses of Patty Jenkins, Kristen Wiig and Gal Gadot on Wonder Woman 1984 based on what the film would do in a balanced scenario, I was told, and talent was paid as such. It is these types of negotiations that are taking place with the cast of Dune, which includes Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin and Oscar Isaac among many others. That said, Villeneuve wants to keep the feature as a theatrical release.

Having said all that, it is not clear whether WarnerMedia will stick with this strategy of launching HBO Max in theaters throughout the year. Many of those on display, as well as rival distributors, said it would be difficult for the studio to stick to the plan, as a broader theatrical product hits the screen and other studios promise a window.

WarnerMedia did not report any statistics on how WW1984 made it on HBO Max (in terms of subscribers or views), and the sequel, although it posted the best debut for a film during the pandemic at $ 16.7 million domestically, fell like a horror film on Weekend 2, with a 67% drop.