AT&T said that its highly anticipated film Wonder Woman 1984 will be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in the U.S. on Christmas day.
The film will remain available on HBO Max for a month at no additional cost to subscribers.
Those subscribers include AT&T customers who have HBO Max through their mobile phone and broadband plans.
The move comes as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps people from the theaters.
Media companies are trying to figure out what to do with their high-profile movies, and one option is using them to boost subscribers on their streaming services. The Walt Disney Co. started the trend by putting Frozen II on Disney Plus.
“As we navigate these unprecedented times, we’ve had to be innovative in keeping our businesses moving forward while continuing to super-serve our fans,” said Ann Sarnoff, chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, which includes Warner Bros. Pictures. “This is an amazing film that really comes to life on the big screen and, working with our partners in the exhibition community, we will provide that option to consumers in the U.S. where theaters are open. We realize that a lot of consumers can’t go back to the movies due to the pandemic, so we also want to give them the option to see Wonder Woman 1984 via our HBO Max platform.”
With director Patty Jenkins returning as director and Gal Gadot reprising the title role, Wonder Woman 1984 is the follow up to 2017’s Wonder Woman, which took in $822 million at the worldwide box office.
The film also stars Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Kristen Wiig as The Cheetah, Pedro Pascal as Max Lord, Robin Wright as Antiope, and Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta.
“We appreciate how patient audiences have been and given the great anticipation around Wonder Woman 1984 we are grateful to be able to make this terrifically entertaining movie widely available in these challenging times,” said Toby Emmerich, chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
