Warner Bros. to Produce At Least 10 Movies Exclusively for HBO Max in 2022
The WarnerMedia CEO declared 'motion pictures matter and will continue to matter' during his remarks on AT&T's quarterly earnings call.
variety.com
Warner Bros. will produce 10 or more movies exclusively for HBO Max in 2022, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said Thursday as he declared "motion pictures matter and will continue to matter."
Kilar spoke as part of AT&T's second quarter earnings call in which he was asked about the company's distribution strategy for Warner Bros. titles next year. WarnerMedia shook up the industry late last year with its move to have day-and-date HBO Max and theatrical releases for all of the studio's 2021 slate, given that COVID lockdown conditions had shuttered theaters.
Kilar said he doesn't see the industry "going back to the way the world was in 2015, 2016 or 2017" with a long 75- to 90-day window for a title's theatrical run before its first home video release. Warner Bros. has already said it will shift to a 45-day window for key tentpole movie titles.
Kilar pointed to Warner Bros. success with the genre film "Godzilla Vs. Kong," which has raked in $460 million in box office revenue, as a sign that box office turnstiles are still a meaningful revenue generator for the studio.