Image: Clay Enos / Warner Bros.
Has Warner Bros. got a holiday present for you.
The studio will release Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max Christmas Day, Dec. 25. It will still open in U.S. theaters that same day, as previously planned. Variety first broke the news.
The film will be available on HBO Max for one month, at no extra cost to subscribers. In markets outside the U.S., where HBO Max is not available, Wonder Woman 1984 will debut in theaters Dec. 16.
“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,” said Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, in a statement.
Director Patty Jenkins added, “We love our movie as we love our fans, so we truly hope that our film brings a little bit of joy and reprieve to all of you this holiday season.”
Actor Gal Gadot also weighed in, writing, “It wasn’t an easy decision and we never thought we’d have to hold onto the release for such a long time but Covid rocked all of our worlds.”
The superhero sequel had initially been scheduled for a June 5, 2020 opening in theaters, but has been pushed back multiple times — first to August, then to October, and finally to December — due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Wonder Woman 1984 joins a growing number of major releases that have pivoted to a more streaming-friendly rollout in the wake of the pandemic. On the same day Wonder Woman 1984 hits HBO Max, Disney+ will debut Pixar’s Soul — which, like Wonder Woman 1984, had been originally intended for a theatrical-only release.
Check out the latest trailer for Wonder Woman 1984, which is exactly the same as the last one but does confirm the HBO Max release at the very end.
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