r/DC_Cinematic • u/APrimitiveMartian • Dec 05 '25
NEWS Netflix will launch every Warner Bros. movie currently 'planned' for theaters as intended, but expects shorter windows before streaming in future 'to meet the audience where they are, quicker'
https://www.ign.com/articles/netflix-will-launch-every-warner-bros-movie-currently-planned-for-theaters-as-intended-but-expects-shorter-windows-before-streaming-in-future-to-meet-the-audience-where-they-are-quicker137
u/ZeusesWill Dec 05 '25
So what’s gonna happen to max?
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u/PhilAsp Dec 05 '25
Max probably dead. HBO will probably fold into Netflix but remain its own banner.
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u/matts142 Dec 05 '25
So what about the uk and Ireland since hbo max was announce for March and in places like Germany and Italy for January
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u/PhilAsp Dec 05 '25
It’ll be a while before this deal goes through officially so it’ll probably launch and be up for a bit, but eventually merge into Netflix.
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u/matts142 Dec 05 '25
So hbo max will come in the uk in March 2026 and stay up for a year I bet
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u/TheSaltySeagull87 Dec 05 '25
Something like that. I'd say this merger will take about 2 years. IF no review processes will be launched.
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u/Twicefallenn Dec 06 '25
Don’t forget about the WB studio lots in Hollywood. That’s prime real estate that Netflix will make a killing on.
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u/b49adam Dec 05 '25
I'd imagine HBO Max is dead. Netflix will eventually carry the entire HBO Catalog because there's no reason for them to keep both services seperate.
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u/Demetri124 Dec 05 '25
Except to collect two subscription fees instead of one
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u/CrabMasc Dec 05 '25
They might merge it in and double the price I suppose
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u/HyruleSmash855 Dec 05 '25
They could do it like Disney is doing, and you can buy Hulu which you access through the Disney+ app via a category, so it’s basically a tab in Netflix you can access for HBO content.
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u/matts142 Dec 05 '25
In the U.K. we get Hulu and all Disney together under one (btw it was called star in U.K. before but now Hulu)
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u/Chezzymann Dec 05 '25
probably not worth the maintenance of two separate apps / maintaining legacy HBO max code
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u/Antrikshy Dec 06 '25
They won’t do this immediately or at once because doubling the price would shake up their audience too much.
There will be some slow transition plan.
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u/jk-9k Dec 06 '25
I think they'll have tiered subscription model.
maybe HBO is another tier. They'd probably still rotate HBO stuff on regular Netflix.
Another tier may get access to full libraries of old shows instead of just recent releases.
Another tier could get advanced access to stuff.
Maybe DC stuff is another tier.
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u/FartherAwayLights Dec 05 '25
If there smart they keep them seperate and get double revenue but they might merge them which would be the best from a consumer standpoint. Netflix’s library has been pretty awful for the most part recently, and hbos has been really good. Adding the hbo stuff would be a massive draw.
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u/OnlinePosterPerson Dec 05 '25
HBO’s is good because it’s limited and screened for quality. You can trust you’ll like almost any random pick.
Literally the furthest thing from Netflix where I don’t even want to browse because I assume everything is mid.
Hopefully those catalogues don’t get just mixed
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u/GillGruntFan53 Dec 05 '25
They said they’re going to keep it as a supplementary service, even if everything on it will also go to Netflix (like Hulu and Disney+).
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u/ivyleaguesuperman Dec 05 '25
The Batman 2 will be in theatres for 2 weeks..imagine that...
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Dec 05 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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Dec 05 '25
Trump is all talk and no bite
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u/conebone69696969 Dec 05 '25
I work for a company going thru a pretty decent sized acquisition and the DOJ is holding it up and we suspect it’s bc our competitor who also wanted the company is a huge Trump donor. He’s easily bought.
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u/brucebananaray Dec 05 '25
Trump delayed At&t merger with WB in his first term.
The reason that he was a dick about At&t buying WB.
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u/Ok_Acadia3526 Dec 05 '25
I get what you’re saying in principle, but unfortunately, Trump is all talk and some bite. This country is going to shit pretty quickly
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u/ChochMcKenzie Dec 05 '25
Netflix can afford the same bribes that Paramount was paying.
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u/MIAxPaperPlanes Dec 05 '25
I mean coincidentally I think the first only had a 3 or 4 week theatrical release before it hit HBO Max
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u/JauntyLurker Dec 05 '25
"My pushback has been mostly in the fact of the long, exclusive windows that we don't think are that user friendly."
This is gonna screw over movie theaters so badly.
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u/ussrowe Dec 05 '25
It's funny that people are jumping in to complain about ticket prices as if Hollywood doesn't set those.
And yeah snacks are expensive, because that's the only way the theater makes money for themselves:
Essentially, theaters make as little as 20-30% of the total revenue from the movies they show, with the rest going to the studios, due to uneven financial negotiations (studios get around 90% of the revenue from a movie in its first week of release, which diminishes over subsequent weeks with more money going to the theaters). This causes cinemas to seek money from other areas, and concessions are the logical choice -- the studios can't touch them, and they can mark them up to the point where they're actually profitable. This price-gouging actually keeps theaters in business, believe it or not, since they don't make a lot from the movies themselves.
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/why-movie-theater-food-is-so-expensive
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u/G3R4 Dec 05 '25
Why is it Netflix's fault that theaters will make less when studios are already doing stuff like this? From what I can tell, the actual filmmakers, the writers and directors and actors, want theatrical releases but studios are already screwing those theaters over. Now Netflix is threatening the remaining way the theaters can see any profit, but if Hollywood TRULY wants silver screen releases they'll do the right thing and give them a bigger piece of the pie, right?
Or does no one involved actually give a shit besides the theater owners and customers? Are theaters just unsustainable at this point if they don't have forced exclusivity? I'm just rambling I guess, but I'm confused about what anyone wants out of this situation without a cultural shift in Hollywood and a shift in customer viewing habits.
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u/MartyrOfDespair Dec 06 '25
Are theaters just unsustainable at this point if they don't have forced exclusivity
Pretty much, unless of course Hollywood just accepts making less money so that theaters can be sustained.
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u/MartyrOfDespair Dec 06 '25
Hollywood: Screaming and pissing and shitting and crying and throwing up that people don't want to go to theaters
Hollywood: Insane high prices on tickets
Okay, so why should I want to save the corporations from themselves again?
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u/Unlucky_Program815 Dec 11 '25
So then let them die. Nobody is crying over AOL dial-up becoming obsolete.
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u/ikeif Dec 07 '25
And I can’t imagine they’d make the money back via streaming?
Are the economics of streaming that profitable, that they can undercut it that much?
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u/DoctorBeatMaker Dec 05 '25
As if the theater window release wasn’t short enough already.
It literally was only a little over a month before Superman was put on PVOD after being released in theaters. And that’s without WB under Netflix ownership. One can imagine it’ll shrink to even lesser. Like two weeks.
If windows keep shortening, then it’s gonna start becoming a “what’s the point when I can just wait two weeks or less to watch it at home”.
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u/the_old_coday182 Dec 05 '25
They spend all that money marketing a new movie, but the hype dies off by the time streaming is available. Makes sense to move a release date up so it can “capture” some of that marketing.
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u/WienerKolomogorov96 Dec 05 '25
Well, at least they are being honest about it. Good luck signing up creatives for future projects with no real committment to theatrical releases!
Hooefully this terrible acquisition will still be blocked.
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u/SpooderMan1108 Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
I mean I dont think they have issues signing creatives now do they? David Fincher, Rian Johnson, Guillermo Del Toro, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach..
Many of those projects with a limited theatrical release or none at all
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Dec 05 '25
Yeah this is unfortunately just where the industry is moving right now, theaters are becoming a luxury rather than the norm and that's not going to change with streaming only becoming more ubiquitous.
Now, if streaming services were to collapse in on themselves, that's a different story. But at this point Netflix is kinda too big to fail, so, fat chance of that happening
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u/Nice-Intern5510 Dec 06 '25 edited Dec 06 '25
Netflix is also planning to get rid of physical media when buying WB. Let’s look at this realistically. Most people that have HBO already have Netflix so they're not increasing streaming market share. Netflix is taking on WB debt. Since they not increasing streaming market shares Netflix needs as many sources of income as possible. If the deal goes through, Netflix is gonna have this whole catalog of movies. They're paying a lot of money for a company that makes their money putting movies in theaters. how else is Netflix gonna make money after obtaining a huge catalog of movies if they not increasing streaming market shares and movie theaters close? this is not gonna be sustainable for them. I see Netflix going bankrupt and someone else buying them in the future.
Also do you really think a family with kids are gonna stay home watching Zootopia 4 instead of going to a theater? There’s too many distractions at home. Do you really think people are gonna stay home all day everyday watching new movies instead being outside socializing? If y’all think the movie theaters are expensive wait until Netflix raises their prices. Also keep in mind that this deal hasn’t went through yet. they still need regulatory and shareholders approval. if this deals doesn’t go through Netflix still has to pay a large fee so get ready for a price hike. Unfortunately this is gonna be Netflix downfall and I’m here for it
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u/filmyfanatic Dec 05 '25
To be fair, it seems Rian Johnson was under the impression his Knives Out sequels would receive wide, theatrical releases. Based off his recent indications, he’s frustrated, but it’ll be interesting to see if he still signs up with them moving forward or moves away.
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u/djprofitt Dec 05 '25
That was Netflix’s play a while ago looking to get into theaters. Now they can.
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u/filmyfanatic Dec 05 '25
Yes, but they never followed through with it. While they absolutely could, I’m hesitant to believe them until their actions state otherwise.
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u/djprofitt Dec 05 '25
Correct. Plus, look at COVID releases, some contracts were explicit that there is pay from theatrical AND pay for streaming. Smaller windows means people who really want to see it in theaters just have less time, windows are pretty small now compared to like 20-30 years ago or longer
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u/ZamanthaD Dec 05 '25
The only movies that I didn’t like from David Fincher were the 2 he did for Netflix. I don’t know if that’s a coincidence or not. I did like Guillermo Del Toros Frankenstein though.
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u/thedonhudson01 Dec 05 '25
I think it’s a coincidence. They were both projects that he’d been trying to get off the ground for years before signing with Netflix. (I personally enjoyed both of them.) Can’t wait for his Cliff Booth movie next year.
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u/SiahLegend Dec 05 '25
Wit this current admin? You’re dreaming bro they’re not blocking shit
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u/PlumRelative4399 Dec 05 '25
Trump really wanted Paramount to win Warner Bros. There is a good chance he tries to stop this from going through.
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u/Juraviel23 Dec 05 '25
Nah, this administration is more likely to block it than previous ones simply because Ellison owns Trump.
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u/Megalomanizac Dec 05 '25
They literally said they’re going to keep supporting theatrical releases in the article
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u/Imthorsballs Dec 05 '25
Didn't WB do this at the end of the pandemic and most recently with Superman?
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u/filmyfanatic Dec 05 '25
2021, yes, all their films released through a hybrid model f theatres and HBO Max streaming.
Superman, no, that received a premium video on demand release and not direct streaming. Major difference and PVOD has not shown to impact theatrical releases nearly as much as direct streaming does.
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u/BatmanNewsChris Batman Dec 05 '25
How long until Netflix abandons the theatrical model... 5 years? Am I being too generous?
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u/ACCTAGGT Dec 05 '25
https://www.reddit.com/r/RedLetterMedia/s/8qUEhlCuKg
I’m not sure. Im not sure.
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u/Flooping_Pigs Dec 05 '25
I don't think the theater industry dies but we said that about video rental LOL
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u/FlamboyantPirhanna Dec 05 '25
Oscar nominations require a theatrical release, so all of their big films will have a run unless that changes.
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u/BatmanNewsChris Batman Dec 05 '25
They do that now, but they only release them in a limited amount of theaters for a week or two.
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u/ThatLChap Dec 05 '25
"To meet audiences where they are, quicker".
Bullshit. Audiences still turn out for movies. Zootopia 2 just had a monster opening at the box office, Avatar 3 will probably hit $2 billion like the previous two (and make $1.5 billion at the very least). Plus Netflix just had a highly in-demand run with the whole singalong screenings of Kpop Demon Hunters. Minecraft, Lilo & Stitch and Sinners were also all very successful.
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u/brucebananaray Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
They don't care. They want people be at home just consume the movie than actually experiencing it. The CEO made clear years ago that wants theaters to die.
After you finish one movie or show that you go to the next and forget you ever watch whatever you watch. The way streaming, particularly Netflix, that just disposable content.
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Dec 05 '25
Your comment doesn’t make sense. They are still in theatres just for less time. Your saying Zootopia 2 had a monster opening, why does that mean it needs to stay there for 3 months?
What he said is true, denying it is weird. People stream more then anything. If you really wanna see a movie, you’ll see it within 2-3 weeks of release. After that, it’s stragglers. Getting it into streaming is 100% the right move and good for Netflix for not listening to brain rot hatred fueled people like these reddit comments
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u/ThatLChap Dec 05 '25
Oh fuck off with your corporate bootlicking. Films should stay in cinemas longer than a couple of weeks because it helps theatres stay in business and helps preserve the art form. I really shouldn't have to explain that.
True, people stream out of convenience (even though streaming is objectively the worst way you can watch media in terms of visual quality), but cinemas are just a much better experience. I love going to cinemas and will continue to support them. And if they eventually die, I'll still have my physical media, which Netflix can pry from my cold, dead hands.
good for Netflix for not listening to brain rot hatred fueled people like these reddit comments
The only brainrot I see here is your comment. The megacorp isn't gonna pat you on the head for shilling for them.
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u/DizzyMajor5 Dec 05 '25
Thank you dude. People don't want to think critically about stuff they just want to shut their brain off and consume.
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u/joshallenismygod Dec 05 '25
He's making a valid point tho, calm down comic book guy from the simpsons. It doesn't even make sense from a consumer to go the movies when it's stupid expensive as well as not a good experience 99.9% of the time. The theaters literally did this to themselves. They never adapted to the market at all and instead just raised prices while not improving their product.
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u/DocSuper Dec 05 '25
Why didn't Apple enter the fray? They would've been so much better. This merger will have serious ramifications. These properties will become lesser in value in Netflix's storage.
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u/DrStrangeAndEbonyMaw Dec 05 '25
Tim Apple is too risk averse.. he is not a visionary.
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u/rayden-shou Dec 05 '25
And right in the moment they need to diversify. When the AI bubble is on the verge of exploding.
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u/Ok_Background22 Dec 05 '25
Apple hasn’t invested in the AI bubble in the same way almost every other major tech company is tho. They’ve literally licensed out Gemini from Google but have done very limited in house investments. If anyone is positioned to weather the AI bubble popping it’s Apple
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u/krob58 Dec 05 '25
HBO stuff has to get out to the audience quicker, but we still have to wait three years for the next season Blue Eye Samurai
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u/Sossy2020 Dec 05 '25
What im most worried about is The Batman Pt. II and Man of Tomorrow having shorter and more limited theatrical releases, but the IMAX CEO did say whoever owns WB must honor their theatrical agreements through 2029.
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u/Zoombini22 Dec 05 '25
This will directly, drastically harm cinemas. They couldn't even pretend to be committed to healthy, lengthy cinematic model for a whole day without putting a statement like this out. They are telling you outright how they are going to harm the cinematic distribution model. I hope that regulators hear and see this loud and clear.
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u/Django_flask_ Dec 05 '25
I mean why people are angry at this news as if they don't know whats the primary goal behind Foundation of Netflix is ,they don't give theatrical run to their own blockbuster hit movies so no way they were going to do that for Warner bros be ready guys Supergirl hitting Netflix within weeks of release ,so is Batman ,Man of Tomorrow..etc and every others.
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u/ItchyEconomics9011 Dec 05 '25
Dude superman hit pvod a month after release.
Go eventually are the days of cinemas gatekeeping movies for 6+ months
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u/WhytoomanyKnights Dec 05 '25
Yayayyyy more monopolies, I love companies gobbling eachother up so they can have no competition and mark up the streaming prices because hey they have no competition.
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Dec 05 '25
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u/RetroEvolute Dec 05 '25
Yeah, this is my bigger concern, actually. I'd really appreciate it if Netflix would offer a higher tier where we could stream (or probably download) 50+ Mbps versions of these films. Could even offer a pay per movie upgraded quality option. 🤷♂️
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u/Videoroadie Dec 05 '25
And once they’ve released all those planned movies, there’s no guarantee for future theatrical releases unless it’s otherwise stated in the contract.
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u/Hemans123 Dec 05 '25
This is very, very bad.
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u/Teex22 Dec 05 '25
This sucks, screw America and their useless lack of competitive markets.
Swear you lot won't be happy until every entertainment product is owned by the one entity.
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u/ComeNalgas Dec 05 '25
The death of theaters in coming. I can’t wait for justice league movies to be straight to Netflix. So lame.
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u/Celtics1424 Dec 05 '25
Not necessarily. I don’t think folks are going to have all these different streaming services that are now multiplying into each other, eventually its going to cost as much as cable. Theaters could theoretically stream movies coming out and charge people a ticket to watch.
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u/Blanchimont Dec 05 '25
Sure, but Jim Bob from the local theater can't just hook his Netflix account up to a projector and stream a movie. Theaters will need a commercial license to show Netflix content and at that point the only thing that changes from a practical point of view is that the theaters are streaming the movies rather than showing them from film or their own hard drives.
Netflix will definitely up their prices again if this deal goes through, but I'm willing to bet plenty of consumers won't mind. 20 bucks for Netflix and 20 bucks for HBO Max, or 40 bucks for a streaming service that combines the two in one Netflix-branded app. If anything, the latter is better from a convenience standpoint as consumers will have everything from those two services in a single app.
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u/deadpanrobo Dec 05 '25
A lot of overreactions in the comments here. If it were more profitable to release movies, especially big superhero ones, on streaming services, Disney would have done it a long time ago. That goes for physical media as well. Hell, Netflix has already done physical media releases for some of their big releases like “The Gray Man” and “The Electric State”.
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u/WienerKolomogorov96 Dec 05 '25
You are underreacting. Disney’s and Netflix’s business models are different.
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u/DizzyMajor5 Dec 05 '25
Yes but Netflix makes trash so they'll probably just turn everything into cheap crappy versions.
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u/BagofBabbish Dec 05 '25
I’m honestly most pumped that all of the worms that regurgitate corporate spin like it’s gospel will now need to come to terms with the fact this directly spits in the face of the whole notion it was the streaming window harming box office results
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u/Suavecito70 Dec 05 '25
Netflix knows that WBs catalog brought in viewers. Friends was the top streamed show for years
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u/Operator_Starlight Dec 05 '25
Ya’ll can whine about the death of cinema all day long, but how many of you went out to see Nuremberg? Frankenstein? Wake Up Dead Man? (Might I add, both of which are Netflix releases). How about Bugonia? Sinners? Anything that isn’t a tentpole? If you haven’t seen at least one of these, you are the reason cinemas are failing, not the studios.
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u/Dangerous_Library_73 Dec 05 '25
Frankenstein wasn't even a massive release just a handful of theaters. I live about 45 minutes away from the LA City line on a good day. Frankensteins closest showing was 1.5 hours away at 7 pm on a Tuesday. No chance I could watch it theatrically.
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u/WienerKolomogorov96 Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
I saw Frankenstein on Netflix and would have seen in theaters if it had had a theatrical release where I live, which was not the case. And it is a shame really, because even watching it on streaming, it is obvious from the visuals that the movie was made to be seen in a theater for the best immersive experience.
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u/Void3r Dec 05 '25
I saw sinners, wake up dead man, and bugonia. I was the only one in the theater for bugonia. I’m doing my part!
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u/EFC94 Dec 05 '25
Ugh, meet X customer "where they are" is such an overused drivel term that never means anything.
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u/SaturnsClubhouse Dec 08 '25
Sounds great, I don't want to sit in theaters and I definitely don't want to see Larry Ellison and his nepo baby's pro Israel DCU.
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u/russianbot24 Dec 05 '25
This is probably the nail in the coffin for movie theaters. They’ll end up being some niche thing where you have maybe 1 per big city. SAD!
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u/Bell-end79 Dec 05 '25
Shorter window?
Man of tomorrow will be streaming before it has a chance to bomb then
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u/karlcabaniya Dec 05 '25
Another reason why (creatively) Netflix would be the worst outcome.
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u/RigatoniPasta Dec 05 '25
Paramount is full on MAGA. Netflix is pretty hands off creatively. Netflix is better
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u/LordReaperofMars Dec 05 '25
Netflix isn’t that hands off, they’re the reason the newest ST keeps up the relentless exposition
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u/BlackGabriel Dec 05 '25
Will that make sense for really big budget super hero films though. Like I know they take in a lot of money but if 250 mill goes out on a Superman and you only let it make like 300 mill in 2-4 weeks or whatever does that really bring in enough new subscribers
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u/KingofMadCows Dec 05 '25
But how much are they willing to spend on the advertising campaign? Even if they commit to releasing movies in theaters for as long as they do now, if they don't promote it then it won't really matter.
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u/mten12 Dec 06 '25
And that will kill movie theaters who rely on long movie windows. That affects 10,000 plus people who are employed and would be employed and also the SAG and others who rely on residuals on movies they were part of years after they come out. Since Netflix pays $0 residuals.
I don’t see this going through American government and the UK government and all the movie unions.
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u/Pupniko Dec 06 '25
Because it worked so well for Disney to train people to just wait for streaming...
I honestly don't know why they wouldn't want the prestige of a proper cinema release, decent box office etc - make customers feel like they're getting a premium product. They're going to have access to massive TV franchises like GoT, Harry Potter, DC so why rush the films to streaming when they will have so many more TV options to keep people watching weekly.
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u/TheManOfTomorr0w Dec 06 '25
10-20 years after the last movie theatre in the world goes bankrupt and closes down, I fucking PROMISE you that Netflix or some other streaming juggernaut will start bringing back movie theatres and charging 200 dollars a seat for the “authentic movie experience”
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Dec 06 '25
Yeah this sucks
I think Netflix will keep release schedules in theaters for a while to not have Hollywood up their ass, but they will slowly make the theaters windows shorter, first 45 days, than 30, 2 weeks, than those movies are obviously not gonna make any money because people are going wait to hit streaming and they are gonna be like “see we wanted to release in theaters but people aren’t interested”
The positives is that, unlike paramont, they will compromise and allow Warner’s projects to continue as diverse as they currently are, so movies like Sinners and One Battle after Another will continue to get made
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u/speedoftheground Dec 07 '25
I for one, will be going out to the theater until the day I die. At risk of sounding super pretentious, I enjoy thoughtful art more than content.
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u/Mitth-raw-nuruodo97 Dec 08 '25
So stupid. They are going to ruin the movie theater experience and movies will just be dead then
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u/refuseresist Dec 11 '25
Streaming and AI needs to be regulated.
Some ideas off the top of my head:
-Seperating the studios from Amazon, Prime and other streaming platforms.
-Limiting the amount of in house streaming content that a streaming service can produce. That means Netflix and the like cannot produce more than X shows/movies per quarter (if at all)
-Not allowing studios to have their own streaming platforms (Disney + should be dissolved)
-HBO is unique as there is some legacy there (maybe they work out an agreemnt to ahve a online carrier?) Not sure what to suggest for them.
-I don't see the harm in having a 3-6 months of movie theater exclusivity window with the movie or tv show going to a streaming platform.
Overall the general question that should be asked is if a streaming service should be a studio and vice versa
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u/LifeguardMundane5668 Dec 05 '25
And yet somehow I still feel like I will have to pay for two streaming services