Why would Warner Bros. not choose to recoup some of its investment and just release the film on its streaming platform, HBO Max? In fact, Batgirl was originally conceived as an HBO Max streaming exclusive, and this was part of the reason for its downfall.
Zaslav has openly disowned his predecessor Jason Kilar’s decision to release all Warner Bros. films, including Dune and The Matrix Resurrections, day-and-date on HBO Max during the pandemic.
Indeed, many within Hollywood are concluding that a theatrical release confers status on a streaming service when it arrives there; The Batman is said to have performed extremely well on HBO Max after making Warner Bros. $770 million in theaters.
Cancellation is a sign of Hollywood turning its back on direct-to-streaming movies The film world has reacted in shock to Warner Bros.’