Mad At Max: Christopher Nolan Bashes Warner Bros & HBO MAX Hybrid Release Strategy
Christopher Nolan is currently doing home entertainment promo for his sci-fi epic Tenet. The Warner Bros release was the first big film to open on cinema screens during the COVID-19 pandemic and while it grossed $360 million at the global box office, the $200 million budgeted-film disappointed.
Following Tenet, Warner Bros announced that it plans to release Wonder Woman 1984 and its entire 2021 film slate theatrically worldwide, while also adding exclusive one month access on the HBO Max streaming service in the U.S. alongside the film’s theatrical domestic release.
Entertainment Tonight was speaking with Christopher Nolan about this decision and the director came out with all guns blazing and slammed the studio which has been his home for the last 20 years for its decision.
Nolan wasn’t done though, releasing a hard-hitting statement through The Hollywood Reporter which called HBO Max the worst streaming service’. The gloves are off.
Here’s what Nolan had to say…
ET comment:
Oh, I mean, disbelief. Especially the way in which they did. There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone. In 2021, they’ve got some of the top filmmakers in the world, they’ve got some of the biggest stars in the world who worked for years in some cases on these projects very close to their hearts that are meant to be big-screen experiences. They’re meant to be out there for the widest possible audiences… And now they’re being used as a loss-leader for the streaming service — for the fledgling streaming service — without any consultation. So, there’s a lot of controversy. It’s very, very, very, very messy. A real bait and switch. Yeah, it’s sort of not how you treat filmmakers and stars and people who, these guys have given a lot for these projects. They deserved to be consulted and spoken to about what was going to happen to their work.
HR Statement:
“Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.
Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker’s work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak. They don’t even understand what they’re losing. Their decision makes no economic sense, and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction.”
