‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Just Validated the HBO Max Experiment

Okay, just watched Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max, some thoughts…

…first and foremost, it’s fine. There are some good parts, some bad ones.¹ It’s not as good as the original, but it’s also not awful. It’s mostly fun. But…

…it’s interesting that it’s mediocre in that it is the current reference point for if a movie should be released in theaters versus the new streaming order. Obviously, this was the latter, but not by choice — Warner tried to postpone the theatrical release multiple times to make theaters work. COVID just wasn’t having any of it and Tenet was a disaster.² They ultimately made the right call…

…because, in a “normal world”, while WW84 would have done well in theaters on the back of the first movie, it would probably not have done as well as the original because again, it’s not as good. And word about this would have trickled down quickly. So I think the move to HBO Max actually saved some face in that regard. Now it can be the poster child for the new streaming era, versus just another underperforming sequel. And…

…it’s actually perfect for HBO Max because even though it’s mediocre, who cares? The only thing wasted was time. And maybe an HBO Max subscription if you signed up to watch, but you should probably hang on to that given everything else coming in 2021. So I really think it was just time, which is valuable, but because it’s streaming in our homes versus a night in the theaters, if you really thought it wasn’t worth your time, you easily could have just turned it off. This wasn’t hiring a sitter, driving/Ubering, buying concessions, etc. It was “this sucks, let’s watch something else...”

…that thought will horrify filmmakers (and theater owners), of course. But it is what it is. And it is the way forward here. I believe and hope that there is a path for cinematic experiences in theaters, I just think it’s going to take a truly grandiose and/or exceptional film to get us all there. And I think it’s going to require the theaters themselves to step up their games…

…and while WW84 was certainly big enough, I think it’s an interesting question for studio heads going forward. Rather than simply greenlighting a film or not, they’ll have to decide where it should play. So if you’re a studio boss and you watch WW84, do you immediately say it goes exclusively to theaters first? Probably, because of the aforementioned success of the first. But if you’re really good at your job, I think you would also seriously consider a hybrid approach here: theaters and HBO Max. Again, knowing the box office would likely be down a bit from the first one and knowing the marquee could still drive HBO Max subs. AT&T/Warner didn’t really have a choice here, but luckily stumbled into what I think is the right one for this particular movie…

…anyway, Wonder Woman 1984 was fine. I both enjoyed it but also didn’t think it was great. I think the premise — taking place in the 1980s — was actually the best part and I probably would have doubled down on that even more, even though I’m sure they thought they were already overplaying that element. I thought it was a good movie to watch at home, but I would have been mildly annoyed to have gone to a theater to see it. Not because it’s bad, it’s not, but again, just because of time. And that’s what this is all really about now. 2021 is going to be a fascinating year…

¹ What on Earth were they thinking with Kristen Wiig as a cast off from Cats? It never, never, never works to have people cast as humanoid cats. There’s a reason there’s no ThunderCats movie, people.

² A topic for another day…