Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins confirmed her latest film will simultaneously release in theaters and on HBO Max on December 25.
The film was originally supposed to hit theaters in June, but the spread of COVID-19 forced Warner Bros. to delay the release. Since then, the film’s release has shifted multiple times due to certainty over the pandemic, and with cases now rising in the U.S., the hope of a gangbusters theatrical run has all but died.
“At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give, over everything else,” Jenkins said in a statement on Twitter. “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.”
Notably, this will be the first (and only) major comic book release of 2020 from either Marvel or DC. The pandemic has all but decimated the entertainment industry, putting nearly every major release on hold. Marvel Studios was supposed to release Black Widow earlier this year, followed by The Eternals on November 6. Both movies have since been delayed to 2021, with the hope being that theaters will be open and thriving by then.
A press release said Wonder Woman 1984 will be on HBO Max at no extra cost for one month starting December 25, before presumably returning to the platform sometime in 2021. In addition to launching in U.S. theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day, the film will be released in select international markets beginning December 16. Unfortunately, HBO Max has yet to launch in markets outside of the U.S.
It’s unclear what kind of lasting impact the distribution of Wonder Woman 1984 will have on theaters and home streaming, or how it’ll impact the future of DC releases. But it’s good news for fans who have missed big tentpole films. All you need is an HBO Max subscription, which is available for $15 per month.
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