Last night, The Hollywood Report put out an article titled 'Godzilla vs. Kong' Likely The Next Tentpole To Go To A Streamer (Exclusive) and right now many people are taking this as confirmation that it's happening.
The article reads:
Godzilla vs. Kong, the forthcoming monster movie from Legendary Pictures, looks likely to be the latest big franchise movie to head to a streamer.
Knowledgeable sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Netflix has made an offer of more than $200 million for the film while WarnerMedia has blocked the deal while preparing an offer of its own for its streamer, HBO Max. Legendary declined to comment while a Warner Bros. spokesperson said: "We plan to release Godzilla vs. Kong theatrically next year as scheduled."
To clear this up, this is NOT confirmation that Godzilla vs Kong will be going to a streaming platform. They are still planning to fully release the movie in theaters. Do I believe that it will release on HBO Max? Yes, I do. I have been speculating the possibility happening since April. I even took the news about Wonder Woman 1984 getting released in both theaters and on HBO Max as a very likely sign that Godzilla vs Kong could get the same treatment since they're both big budget movies. For months, nobody took the idea of a big budget movie being moved to a streaming service was possible, especially since they're also made to be watched in theaters.
When I read this article they base their claim from "knowledgeable sources," this is basically the same thing as WeGotThisCovered claiming they heard the Monsterverse is getting a TV series from "their sources." It's rumor bait. THR's source should be taken with a grain of salt like every other rumor, but maybe with less salt than usual.
THR is a much larger and more trustworthy news source. They are usually the one of the first media outlets to report on upcoming movies. I'm more likely to believe THR when they report WarnerMedia blocked Netflix's offer on the movie in favor of HBO Max. HBO Max is owned by WarnerMedia which makes Netflix a direct competitor. It simply wouldn't make sense to sell their movie to a competitor when they can make money on their own streaming platform.
Let's say WarnerMedia does announce that Godzilla vs Kong is getting released on HBO Max. The most likely plan is to give the movie the same treatment as WW84 to release the movie in both theaters and on HBO Max for a limited time. AT&T and WarnerMedia has stated in September that they are focusing their efforts more on HBO Max to get more people to subscribe on the platform. Currently, the Snyder Cut of Justice League is still in production and was reported by Variety back in June the mini-series is aiming for an early-mid 2021 release (if you can get through the BS about systemic racism in the article). While the waiting game for Justice League continues, HBO Max does need to release more content to keep people interested. So movies like Wonder Woman 1984 and Godzilla vs Kong could be perfect contenders to get more people interested in the streaming service.
Also, it all comes down to money. The longer people are forced to wait for the movie the more the movie could lose money. These movies are not made for free. There is a budget these studios are given to make the movie and pay for marketing and merchandising that needs be to paid back. If WarnerMedia, Warner Bros., and Legendary Pictures agree releasing Godzilla vs Kong in theaters will not be enough to make enough money then the simple answer is to release the movie on HBO Max like they did with WW84.
While THR's article can be looked at as a probability, it should not be taken as confirmation until we get official confirmation from WarnerMedia, Warner Bros., and Legendary Pictures that Godzilla vs Kong is getting released on HBO Max.
Do you think this is confirmation Godzilla vs Kong will be released on HBO Max? How would you feel if it does get released on HBO Max? Let me know in the comments section on your thoughts on THR's article of Godzilla vs Kong likely releasing on HBO Max. Make sure to follow me on my Facebook, Twitter, Parler, MeWe, and Minds pages to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions and have a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers.