The production company Village Roadshow filed a lawsuit against the film studio Warner Bros. on Monday. It’s about the joint project “Matrix Resurrections”, the fourth part of the sci-fi series. The film hit theaters in December, but played there worldwide only a little over $150 million so far. With a large-scale production that is said to have cost almost 200 million dollars, this can be described as a veritable flop.
As Variety reported, those responsible at Village Roadshow accuse the Warner bosses in the lawsuit of intentionally sabotaging the theatrical release by releasing the film (at least in the USA) on the in-house streaming platform HBO Max at the same time as it was launched. This approach is not an isolated case, Warner immediately released all of its major cinema films of 2021, from “Dune” to “The Suicide Squad”, as a stream. Because almost all major Hollywood studios have now entered the brutal distribution battle on the streaming service market – and in order to be able to assert oneself between Netflix, Amazon and Disney+, you need prestigious blockbusters. The strategy also worked, HBO Max is currently not at the top, but it is very solid. This also pleases the shareholders on Wall Street, who in the entertainment sector have long paid more attention to subscriber numbers than to box office results.
Scarlett Johansson and Disney settled out of court in a similar case
This has often been a contentious issue in Hollywood during the pandemic. Scarlett Johansson made the most headlines last yearwhen she sued The Walt Disney Company for putting her superhero film Black Widow directly on Disney+ without consulting her. Since then, most Hollywood studios have become more cautious. Warner, for example, is said to be loud Variety have made special arrangements with many filmmakers. Because many actors and directors get a share of the cinema revenues, and if they are lower because of the streaming exploitation, they want to be compensated for it.
According to the complaint, this also happened in the case of “Matrix Resurrections”: Warner financially compensated the leading actors Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss as well as the director Lana Wachowski – the production company Village Roadshow alone did not get a tired dollar. The dispute is sensitive for Warner, because Village Roadshow is not just any small house, but one of the most important cooperation partners of the studio. The company produced various hits, in addition to the old “Matrix” films, including “Joker” and “Ocean’s Eleven”.
The company bosses point out that films that have been exclusively released in cinemas have become big hits in recent months despite the pandemic. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” for example proved that significantly higher revenues were also possible in the case of “Matrix 4”. Warner, on the other hand, is now angry because they had already initiated arbitration proceedings in order to clarify the matter together before Village Roadshow filed a lawsuit. It is uncertain how the proceedings will end. Scarlett Johansson and Disney settled out of court last yearon what terms is not known.