WarnerMedia shot back forcefully against Village Roadshow, after the longtime Warner Bros. film production partner sued the studio for releasing its fourth Matrix-series film on HBO Max the same day the movie debuted in theaters.
"Village’s actions have been duplicitous and this dispute is equally contrived," a Warner Bros. rep told Deadline. "Village was happy to have their name on the credits of the film, traveled to the world premiere in San Francisco, and held themselves out to the media as producers on the film. But they have now reneged on their contractual obligation to pay their share of the cost of the film."
WarnerMedia released a statement earlier suggesting that Australia-based Village Roadshow filed suit to avoid an arbitration process set up earlier by the studio. In its latest volley, Warner, which released all 17 films on its 2021 slate "day-and-date" on HBO Max citing the theatrical limitations of the pandemic, singled Village Roadshow out as the only production partner it wasn't able to successfully negotiate terms with over that decision.
"The only exception was Village, which refused to honor its commitment to pay their share of production costs, rejecting the opportunity we offered to de-risk them from any financial underperformance," Warner Bros. said.
Released in December, The Matrix Resurrections grossed a highly disappointing $37.6 million at the domestic box office. Village Roadshow has accused Warner of adopting a distribution strategy that maximized HBO Max signups at the expense of the movie's more direct financial success.
The suit calls to mind a similar action taken last summer by actress Scarlett Johansson against Disney, following the July release of Marvel film Black Widow.
“WB’s sole purpose in moving the release date of The Matrix Resurrections forward was to create a desperately needed wave of year-end HBO Max premium subscriptions from what it knew would be a blockbuster film, despite knowing full well that it would decimate the film’s box office revenue and deprive Village Roadshow of any economic upside that WB and its affiliates would enjoy,” Village Roadshow said in its lawsuit. ■
