Would Cinemas Be Hypocritical Playing Warner-HBO Max Movies After Continual Netflix Rebuff? Let’s Count Exhibition’s Headaches Right Now

Eli Countryman In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix shared a trailer for the “Pretend It’s a City'” docuseries about Fran Lebowitz, and Starz offered a teaser video for “Power Book III: Raising Kanan.”Bravo announced plans to bring new series “Below Deck Galley Talk” to television with a 7 p.m. premiere on Jan. 1.

Over the weekend, WarnerMedia took a major step in its plan to make HBO Max a legit contender to Netflix by releasing one of its biggest films of the year, “Wonder Woman 1984,” on the streaming service.

When the news that HBO Max was going to be the day-and-date home for all of Warner Bros.’ major 2021 releases, including the highly-anticipated “Dune,” the industry was shaken. And it didn’t take long at all for Legendary, the co-financiers and co-producers of “Dune,” to come forward with a legal challenge.

Over the past couple of weeks, since the announcement that WarnerMedia is releasing all of the 2021 WB films on HBO Max the same day as in theaters, it appears that almost every filmmaker that has publicly spoken about the move has disagreed with the idea of collapsing the theatrical window. And those that understand the decision are still upset that WarnerMedia didn’t warn filmmakers before the announcement.

Steven Soderbergh has been a filmmaker that has consistently pushed the boundaries of whatever medium he’s working in. On the small screen, he’s pushed the limits of TV and on streaming platforms with projects like “Wireless” and “Mosaic.” In film, he’s tested new ways of filming things (with smaller cameras and even smartphones), as well as marketing films (taking on the role of de facto marketer for “Logan Lucky,” for example.

HBO Max has announced that the dating reality series 12 Dates of Christmas, which was created by the team behind Love Is Blind, will be coming back for a second season!

Chappelle’s Show will be removed by HBO Max by the end of 2020, honouring a request by Dave Chappelle.The news was confirmed by HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys, in conversation with Variety.“We had a conversation with Dave,” Bloys began.

‘It stopped being a party a long time ago,” is the new tagline for season four of HBO Max‘s “Search Party” and ain’t that the truth. Originally on TBS, “Search Party” was seemingly a fun, amusing, hip, funny show about millennials and millennial angst.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCasey Bloys is exploring a whole new range of programming options as he takes the creative reins at HBO Max.Bloys has been at the helm of HBO programming for a few years now, but was promoted to chief content officer of HBO and HBO Max back in August.

Zack Snyder’s upcoming new cut of Justice League has changed so much, he believes the four-hour opus will be rated R.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterChris Messina is set for a lead role in the upcoming HBO Max pilot “Verbatim,” Variety has learned.The project is based on Brett Weiner’s New York Times Op Docs Series that screened at Sundance in 2014 and 2016.

Imax CEO Rich Gelfond doesn’t see the Warner Bros.-induced sound and fury in Hollywood subsiding anytime soon as talent joins theaters to protest the studio’s 2021 theatrical windows – nor does he think Warner will stick it out for a full year.

Filmmakers have made their thoughts known. Theater chains have blasted the idea, already.

We’ve already heard from a number of filmmakers about the recent WB/HBO Max move, where more than a dozen high-profile Warner Bros. films will be debuting on the same date in theaters and on HBO Max in 2021.

Judd Apatow is calling out Warner Bros.

When it was announced that WarnerMedia was going to release every Warner Bros. 2021 film on HBO Max the same day as in theaters, the reactions were immediate and passionate.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAT&T CEO John Stankey asserted that the release of Warner Bros.’s full 2021 movie slate on HBO Max and in theaters at the same time will be a “win-win-win” — for WarnerMedia, consumers and partners.Stankey acknowledged criticism that AT&T and WarnerMedia have faced from theater owners: “I know there’s a lot of noise out in the market, people with different viewpoints.” He added, “Anytime you’re going to change a model, it’s going to create a degree of noise.”But

As you’ve heard by now, Warner Bros.’ game-changing seismic decision to put all their 2021 films out on HBO Max simultaneously with whatever theaters are open next year, not only shocked and angered people in Hollywood, it actually blindsided many actors, directors, and talents too. We’ve already heard that Legendary Pictures were so appalled with the decision they’re threatening to sue Warner Bros.

Refresh for chart and more analysis If there’s one weekend at the box office that studios and exhibitors typically have had no thanks for, it’s the post Thanksgiving period, typically the first weekend in December, when business drops by as much as 50%.