Village Roadshow is claiming breach of contract and alleging that Warners is also “devising various schemes” to deprive them of rights to follow-ups to other co-owned films such as sequels to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edge of Tomorrow. Two weeks ago, Warners revealed that HBO Max had gained more than 5 million US subscribers in 2021, up 35% over the past 24 months. The film was originally scheduled to be released in April 2022 but was moved to the end of 2021, a decision that the complaint alleges was intended to “create a desperately needed wave of year-end HBO Max premium subscriptions”. Reviews for The Matrix Resurrections were mixed on release, with the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling it “a heavy-footed reboot which doesn’t offer a compelling reason for its existence”. “There can be no doubt that the abysmal theatrical box office sales figures from The Matrix Resurrections dilute the value of this tent pole franchise as a film’s lack of profitability generally prevents studios from investing in additional sequels and derivative films in the near term.” “WB’s strategy not only ensured that The Matrix Resurrections would be a bust at the box office, but it also inflicted serious harm to the entire Matrix franchise,” the suit claims. The Matrix Reloaded, the highest-performing of the franchise, made more than $740m in 2003. The budget is believed to be around $190m. The Matrix Resurrections, which reunited stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, made just $37m in the US and has just crossed $153m worldwide.
0 kommentar(er)
