The co-producer of The Matrix Resurrections, in a new lawsuit, is blaming the film’s poor box office numbers on a same-day streaming release. According to The Wall Street Journal, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros., the owner of HBO Max. The suit alleges that both the same-day release of The Matrix Resurrections and pushing up the film’s release date was a breach of contract. It also says that moving the movie’s release date from 2022 to 2021 was a bid by Warner Bros. to drive up subscriptions to HBO Max as well.
The decision by Warner Bros. to release an entire slate of new films concurrently on HBO Max and in theaters has been controversial. The 16 other films in Warner Bros’ simultaneous release strategy included Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, King Arthur, and others. The idea is that the experiment doomed their box office fates. Covid is another factor. Only two of the 17 films made more than $100 million in domestic box office sales.
The Matrix Resurrections was released in December, normally a peak time for box office earnings. It has grossed over $37.2 million in domestic box office sales, according to BoxOfficeMojo. It is a decline compared to other blockbusters with theater-only releases from last winter, like Spider-Man: No Way Home, which has made more than $748 million in the domestic box office for instance
There are other factors certainly. In the case of Spider-Man, many point out that if you make a good movie, fans will flock to it no matter where it is.
Source Engdaget
Image Credit PHOTO: NOAH BERGER/ASSOCIATED PRESS