After a number of delays, Wonder Woman 1984 finally settled on a December 25, 2020 release date that many assumed would be final. However, amidst a wave of COVID-19 spikes across the country, sources cited in a Variety report claim the new Wonder Woman film release will go one of two ways.
The first option will see WW84 continuing with its December 25 theatrical release date as planned, but also releasing on HBO Max shortly after in early January. The second, more conservative option would see the movie delayed again into summer 2021.
Warner Bros. may very well decide to push the release after its last big theatrical release, Tenet, performed worse than expected in the domestic market. Tenet’s performance has had repercussions on the rest of the industry, with other big name films pushing dates to avoid making the same mistake.
An early release combined with an HBO Max launch may be a smart decision for WarnerMedia, whose fledgling streaming service isn’t quite competing with the likes of Disney Plus or Netflix yet. After Disney saw its share price go up due to reaching 73 million subscribers on Disney Plus–despite also reporting a $710 million loss–it’s possible WarnerMedia may be looking more seriously towards a streaming-centered release.
Pushing the film’s release date back over six months to June or July in 2021 is the safer option, of course, especially with news that a viable vaccine could be on the cards for early 2021. A WarnerMedia spokesperson contacted by Variety declined to comment on either of the purported options, but did confirm that WW84 would be shown in theaters no matter what.
