After Warner Bros. announced that they would be launching their newly released movies on HBO Max as well as in theaters at no extra cost to subscribers, people wondered how it would pan out. Now we know: better than expected, but much worse than last year or any year prior.

Wonder Woman 1984 earned $18.8 million in its opening weekend, which is a record-setting box office number in pandemic times: although more than 60% of the 5800-theater domestic market was closed by COVID-19, the DC sequel set a record result with the highest take since theaters reopened in late August. By comparison, this weekend’s runner-up was Universal’s Tom Hanks western News of the World which garnered $2.4 million.

The first Wonder Woman opened to $103.2M over the first weekend in June, so this is a 84% drop in revenue from original to prequel. It’s worth noting that worldwide, it has racked up $85 million, so it’s no surprise that Warner Bros. announced today that it will fast-track a third movie in the franchise. But is this Wonder Woman strategy really a winner?

This was obviously a move by Warner to remedy the pandemic situation the world is struggling with, allowing viewers to watch new releases from the safety of their home if they didn’t want to go to the theater. But how much does Warner Bros. care about the affect this decision had on their profits as opposed to a traditional box office release?   

The results aren’t fully in, but the release of Wonder Woman 1984 will most likely give Warner a good idea on whether this method is successful and meets their expectations or not, thus giving them an idea of whether or not they should continue this way going forward. Although they have slated some 2023 releases as theatrical only, no plans for 2022 have been announced. 

Of course this aids Warner in recouping its losses, as it reaps the benefits of both streaming and theatrical views, but how will this affect the profits of the theater? They’ve already been in a rough spot for a majority of this year. Now however, movie goers have an alternative that allows them to remain at home instead.

This could either be a temporary move…or it could be a permanent change if it were to be successful. In the case of the former, it is a safer alternative to those who wish to minimize risk, but still view and support a film. The latter option however, could potentially affect the movie industry as a whole going forward. Change is inevitable, of course, but this change comes with the loss of a movie-going way of life.   

Streaming services have been on the rise over the past decade, but they were never a concern for freshly opening movies. Now with this development, they very well can be even stronger competition for the box office. If this change catches on over the course of the next year, other movie studios may exclusively utilize this method, possibly partnering with other streaming services like Disney+, Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

Movie fans on social media have been torn on this decision as well, bringing up that they’d be missing the experience of going to a theater to see a movie. Whether they just appreciate the general atmosphere or enjoy an outing with family or friends, people do want to go to the theaters. Fans are discussing how this could harm the theater’s financial status as well – many of them realize that success in streaming could be the end of theatrical movies altogether.     

No one, presumably not even Warner Bros., wants that.

Cheryl Lightfoot contributed to this story