Warner Bros. will compensate filmmakers for projects being released in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously in 2021.
The studio is reportedly working to adjust teams of its deals with partners to ensure that filmmakers are paid regardless of box office earnings, according to Bloomberg. As part of the new deals, the odds of performance-based bonuses have been increased and Warner Bros. has committed to paying a larger group of cast and crew based on the fees it collects from HBO Max.
Sources close to the situation also revealed that anyone entitled to a bonus will receive it when half of the box office revenue that would usually be required to trigger the said bonus is reached. Per a stipulation called the "COVID-19 multiplier," if more theaters are shut down, the earnings threshold will drop even lower. Meanwhile, those who would normally benefit from box office receipts will continue to do so, while also benefiting from both on-demand and online purchases of the film.
It was previously announced that Warner Bros. plans to release 17 movies in 2021, including Dune and In the Heights, as well as sequels to The Matrix and Space Jam. The movies will appear in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time in the United States and will run exclusively on the big screen in a handful of territories around the world. The films will be available for free to HBO Max subscribers for 31 days but may remain in theaters after that initial release period.
HBO Max also agreed to pay Warner Bros. a fee during the 31-day release window. That fee will be shared with profit participants, as well as cast and crew members. It's worth noting, however, that the extra payments aren't permanent and are currently set up to only apply to films released in 2021. After that, Warner Bros. plans to go back to the old contract model.
Reports of the new deal come after HBO Max premiered Wonder Woman 1984 on Christmas Day, the same day it arrived in select theaters around the world. The film made $16 million during its first weekend, surpassing the debuts of Tenet and The Croods: A New Age for the best pandemic opening of the year.
Following disparaging comments from Tenet director Christopher Nolan and Dune director Denis Villeneuve about the HBO Max release plan, it's unclear if the new deal stipulations will meet the expectations of creatives. At the time Warner Bros. first announced its plans for 2021, Villeneuve slammed both the studio and its parent company AT&T, writing in an essay for Variety, "AT&T has hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history. There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here."
Source: Bloomberg