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Wonder Woman 1984's HBO Max Release is a Brave Move, Says Joe Russo
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Joe Russo made remarks about the upcoming HBO Max release of Wonder Woman 1984, stating that it was a brave move for director Patty Jenkins to make. Russo, along with his brother Anthony, directed several films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Wonder Woman 1984 is the sequel to 2017's film, taking place several decades after the original Wonder Woman. Jenkins returns as director, along with co-writing the screenplay, and Gal Gadot reprises her role as the titular heroine after portraying her in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and the original Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman 1984 was originally set to be released in December of 2019, before eventually being pushed back to June of 2020. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread around the world, the film was pushed back to August, and then again to December as the chances of theaters reopening in areas like New York City and Los Angeles diminished. As COVID-19 cases continued to spread, it became clear that 1984 would not have the luxury of playing in as many theaters as a film of that size would need to make a profit. Instead of opting for another delay, Warner Bros. decided to release Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max on the same day as its theatrical debut.
In an interview with Collider, Joe Russo spoke about the move to send 1984 straight to streaming - stating that the decision was "incredibly brave and bold." Russo deferred to Jenkins' own statement about the release, saying that he understood how, at a certain point, an artist knows it's time to share their work with the outside world despite less than ideal circumstances. Russo also went on to recognize that a simultaneous release of a film both digitally and theatrically is most likely the future of the business - and it doesn't necessarily have to be a detriment to one medium or the other. Check out his full statement below:
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"I think Patty Jenkins said it best. She made something that she put an incredible amount of love and joy into, and now she's ready to share it with the world. I think it's incredibly brave and bold of her as a filmmaker. I do think that this is the future of the business. There can be room for both digital and theatrical, and in fact, both could perhaps enhance each other's business and experience."
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Wonder Woman 1984 isn't the first blockbuster film to get a simultaneous digital and theatrical release in 2020. Disney's Mulan was released in both theaters and on Disney+ back in September. Although Disney has been tight-lipped about concrete numbers on viewership for the film, some estimate that its domestic gross was larger than Tenet's, which only received a theatrical release. Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was released straight to digital on Amazon Prime, and Pixar's new film Soul will also release directly onto Disney+.
Judging by the relative success of other digitally released films in 2020, sending Wonder Woman 1984 to HBO Max seems like the best move that could be made under the given circumstances. While some may argue that the release will hurt theaters even more, there's a really good chance that if Warner Bros. didn't have that option, they would have been forced to delay the movie again, leaving theaters will no big draws for months. Because of that, the decision to release the film this way was even supported by AMC. From Jenkins' perspective, it must be hard knowing that not everyone will see her film on the big screen. Like Russo stated - it is unquestionably a brave move, and hopefully, that bravery pays off and Wonder Woman 1984 has a successful release.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Release Date: Dec 25, 2020
