'Dune' at Home Turns Theaters Into Wasteland
Warner Bros. is putting all of its 2021 films on HBO Max at the same time they hit theaters. Guess where most people will watch.
In 2021, you'll be able to watch "Dune" on HBO Max or in theaters. Which will it be?
Photographer: Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. and HBO Max, two units of AT&T Inc., just delivered a crushing blow to movie theaters. All of the studio’s films set for release next year — including “The Suicide Squad,” “Dune” and “The Matrix 4” — will go straight to the HBO Max streaming service at the same time that they play in cinemas. While Warner executive Ann Sarnoff sees it as a “unique one-year plan,” let’s be honest, it’s not.
Even as Covid-19 vaccines near approval, it could be a while before consumers feel safe returning to the close confines of a shut-in movie theater. In the latest Morning Consult poll of 2,200 U.S. adults conducted in the final days of November, 51% said it would be four to six months or even longer before they’d feel comfortable resuming trips to the movies; another 26% said they didn’t know or didn’t have an opinion on it. By the time most people do feel safe going, many still may not want to. What I wrote in October — as exhibitor AMC Entertainment Inc. warned of possible bankruptcy — bears repeating: