2021 has been a year of experimentation for Warner Bros. and HBO Max. Releasing every major WB film from this year in both theaters and HBO Max on the same day has seen its own ups and downs, with a film like “Dune” being a theatrical hit despite its streaming release, while features such as “Mortal Kombat” and “The Suicide Squad” have seemingly been box office bombs potentially because of the day-and-date release strategy. For 2022, WB has already announced it’s not doing that again and releasing all of its films in theaters first before HBO Max. And now, it appears the studio is going to at least take one film that was exclusively set for HBO Max, “Blue Beetle,” and put it also in theaters.
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According to THR, Warner Bros. has not only set a release date for “Blue Beetle,” in 2023, but the studio has decided against the original plan of making it an HBO Max exclusive. Now, the DC superhero film from director Angel Manuel Soto is going exclusively to theaters on August 18, 2023. “Blue Beetle,” for those that don’t know, follows the young man, Jamie Reyes, who becomes a superhero after finding a powerful suit of armor. It’s based on a DC Comics character and was part of Warner’s big plan to expand the DC film universe on its streaming service. No reason was given for the move, but we can always speculate, right?
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To change a release strategy like this largely points to a couple of possible reasons. One, the film could be coming together in such a way that WB realizes it could have a monster hit on its hands and it would be silly to leave money on the table by relegating it to HBO Max. Or two, perhaps the HBO Max release strategy has been a pretty big failure and the sign-ups aren’t happening at the pace that WB is hoping for. And because of this, the studio would rather cash out with some box office dollars to help offset the cost of making a superhero film instead of relying solely on subscriber growth. Of course, we have no real data from WB about HBO Max growth and/or popularity of film releases over 2021, so this is purely speculation. That said, either of those reasons would make sense.
But “Blue Beetle” is far from the only big film to get switched around on the schedule recently. There’s plenty actually. Speaking of Warner Bros. and its symbiotic relationship with HBO Max, Steven Soderbergh’s original thriller “KIMI,” starring Zoë Kravitz (“The Batman“), will stream exclusively on HBO Max beginning February 10, 2022, according to WB (via Deadline; here’s a first look). HBO Max also announced premiere dates for Megan Park’s “The Fallout” for Jan. 27 next year, and Christopher Winterbauer’s “Moonshot” on March 24.
Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre” has moved from what was going to be a January 2022 release to March 18, 2022. Scott Derrickson’s “The Black Phone” with Ethan Hawke was set for February 4, 2022, but has now shifted towards the summer, June 24, 2022, according to Deadline. Sony recently moved its David Leitch-directed Brad Pitt action movie “Bullet Train” (originally due in April) and Southern thriller “Where the Crawdads Sing” (originally June 24), to July 15, 2022, and July 22, 2022, respectively.
MGM apparently took “Legally Blonde 3,” off the schedule entirely, leaving its May 20, 2022 release vacant. Univeral’s “Fast & Furious 10” moved from April 2023 to May 19, 2023, and lastly, in a show of confidence, Uni has moved Michael Bay’s “Ambulance” thriller from February 18, 2022, to April 8, 2022.
Happy theater going, mask up and stay safe.
For more info about “Blue Beetle,” here’s a little tease from this year’s DC FanDome: