After Universal first announced that they would release “Trolls World Tour” on VOD instead of going with a traditional theatrical release due to concerns over the coronavirus, everyone started speculating whether that would become a norm with blockbuster films this year. But even after a news report came out yesterday saying Warner Bros. was considering moving “Wonder Woman 1984” to a digital release, the studio is now confirming that they have no such plans.
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Warner Bros. confirmed to IndieWire that the DC superhero movie tentpole will indeed get a traditional theatrical run first, instead of heading straight to streaming. In fact, they still haven’t announced a change in release date for the Patty Jenkins-directed film, which is still scheduled to be released on June 5, though with current quarantine and social distancing measures in place worldwide, it’s unclear if the studio will be forced to make changes later on.
In the original report by The Wrap, “Wonder Woman 1984” producer, Charles Roven, dismissed the idea of a streaming-only release. “It’s ludicrous if you consider how big a movie this is,” he said. “Everybody recognizes that, as interesting as streaming might be, if you want a huge, global worldwide box office, you’ve got to release it in a movie theater.”
While the DC movie is still on schedule for this summer, COVID-19 has disrupted nearly every upcoming movie production and release, with major projects being postponed left and right, and several movies being released on digital early, as is the case with Warner Bros.’ own “Birds of Prey” which will be released on digital next week following a short theatrical run before theaters started closing due to the virus.
Additionally, Warner Bros. just released new images for “Wonder Woman 1984.”
