LOS ANGELES - AT&T Inc’s Warner Bros studio will debut all of its 2021 films in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service on the same day, the company said on Thursday, an unprecedented shift that hammered shares of struggling cinema operators.
Shares of AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest theater operator fell almost 16%, and rival Cinemark dropped about 22%. AT&T shares closed up slightly. Warner Bros executives said the strategy was prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has limited moviegoing and kept many cinemas closed, and would stay in effect for one year.
Cinema operators did not embrace the plan. AMC CEO Adam Aron said Warner Bros was sacrificing profits at its movie studio to boost HBO Max, adding: “we will do all in our power to ensure that Warner does not do so at our expense.”A Cinemark representative said Warner Bros had not shared details of its plan and it would make near-term booking decisions “on a film-by-film basis.”
So people can just sit on their ass at home all day and never leave or socialize? Sounds like hell to me. Haven't we spent enough time at home during the pandemic. I'd rather get out of the house and go to a theater.
My question is this, will we have to suffer through 30 minutes of commercials like you do in the theaters?
I would gladly pay to watch the movie, but I don’t want to have to pay for HBO and then pay to watch a movie also. Seems like double-dipping to me.
At&t is looking for money...in a fast way, they over purchased on some failed acquisitions