Following the success of Robert Pattinson’s The Batman, Warner Brothers Exec Toby Emmerich is starting to decide if their upcoming picture Batgirl should continue on with its HBO Max release, or whether it might be possible for them to ride the coat tails of The Batman‘s success with theatrical release.
Former Warner Brothers CEO Jason Kilar was adamant on heavily investing in HBO Max. But since the Warner Brothers-Discovery merger and a dip within Netflix’s subscription numbers last quarter, the introduction of new CEO David Zaslav combined with evidence doubting streaming may make a traditional release likely.
Streaming has been known to be the dominating force in how media is consumed, but it’s important to note that since things have begun to reopen after COVID-19, in-person movie attendance has sky rocketed. There’s no doubt that streaming will continue to reign on top, but the norm of taking big pictures straight to streaming and skipping theaters may be dying out. Previously, Warner Brothers has received criticism for sending its films starring people of color straight to streaming, and bringing Batgirl to theaters could help combat that PR nightmare as well as do justice for representation.
At this moment, Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi’s Batgirl starring Leslie Grace is still scheduled to debut on HBO Max sometime this year.
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