It’s time to get ready to adjust your moviegoing plans once again as the Wonder Woman 1984 release date is reportedly in active discussions.
A report surfaced from Bloomberg on Thursday night that Warner Bros. has an unusual plan for Wonder Woman 1984. According to sources close to the talks, there are currently two plans being discussed. The first would see the film still hit theaters on Dec. 25, but then quickly release to HBO Max with a window as short as two weeks. The second plan would see a complete delay, more than likely to June 4, 2021.
A later report from Variety indicated that some theaters are open to the hybrid release plan as it would at least give them some time with the film in December as opposed to it going directly to streaming.
Sources speaking to Deadline, however, are saying that the HBO Max plan is not in the lead at the moment.
No matter which version you look at, it seems there is little doubt that the Wonder Woman 1984 release date is very much in play. A decision could come as soon as Friday, or possibly Monday according to multiple reports. With portions of Europe back in lockdown, and some sectors of the United States discussing stay-at-home orders, a theatrical-only release on Christmas Day is seeming less and less likely.
A hybrid release with HBO Max makes a lot of sense from a subscription point of view. While the service is only six months old, it is definitely lagging behind competitors such as Disney Plus. The Walt Disney Company announced during its quarterly report on Thursday that after 12 months of operation it stands at 73.7 million subscribers. HBO Max has seen 8.6 million activations and 38 million total subscribers when including the original HBO.
Sending a major film such as Wonder Woman 1984 to HBO Max during these difficult times would definitely see an increase in subscriber numbers for the service. It would, however, need to see about releasing the film in 4K – a format that the service does currently offer, as well as working out its negotiation issues with both Roku and Amazon Fire TVs.
A decision should reach us soon, but it is definitely a question of which one it will be.
Wonder Woman 1984 is currently scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 25.
