Yes, it’s official: Wonder Woman 1984 is coming out in 2020. Warner Bros has announced that the $200 million DC film will hit U.S. theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day, instead of delaying its release further. It’s exciting news for the movie that originally had plans to debut as early as fall of last year, and Gal Gadot and writer/director Patty Jenkins are behind the decision too.
Wonder Woman 1984 coming out theaters and hitting streaming on the same day in December is an exciting move for Hollywood, as studios continue to make adjustments as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. The movie is facing an uphill battle at the box office following Christopher Nolan’s Tenet having a rough time in theaters. But it’s finally coming! Here’s what Gal Gadot said shortly after the news dropped:
It’s time. We’ve all waited a long time for this one to come. I can’t tell you how excited I am for all of you to see this movie. It wasn’t an easy decision and we never thought we’d have to hold onto the release for such a long time but COVID rocked all our worlds. We feel the movie has never been so relevant and we hope that it’ll bring some joy, hope and love to your hearts. Wonder Woman 1984 is a special one for me and I can only hope it’ll be as special to you too. We’ve put our hearts and souls into it. So.. you can watch it in theaters (they’re doing an amazing job keeping it safe) and you can watch it on HBOMax from your homes. Sending you my love. Please keep safe and wear a mask. Happy holidays to all of us! Let the light shine in.
It could not have been an easy decision to exchange a traditional theatrical date for a Christmas release on both big screens and streaming, but right now, studios and theaters are losing out – audiences have been without a DC movie since Birds of Prey in February. As Gal Gadot said on Twitter, she’s excited for everyone to finally see the sequel and hopes it will be a source of joy in an especially difficult time. Writer/director Patty Jenkins echoed these statements with her own thoughts on the Christmas release:
The time has come. At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give, over everything else. We love our movie as we love our fans, so we truly hope that our film brings a little bit of joy and reprieve to all of you this holiday season. Watch it in theaters, where it is made safe to do so (check out the great work theaters have done to make it so!) And available in the safety of your home on HBOMax where it is on. Happy holidays to all of you. We hope you enjoy our film as much as we enjoyed making it.
Throughout the year, Patty Jenkins has been vocal about her and Warner Bros' intentions to debut Wonder Woman 1984 out on the big screen during a time when the theater industry is struggling to stay afloat. With this decision, the movie will presumably bring some cash to exhibitors and to the studio through HBOMax subscriptions. According to Jenkins, she is also working on a program that would allow families or pods to rent out their own theaters to see Wonder Woman 1984.
Since the decision is also a first for major big-budget releases, a number of fans are concerned as well. Most notably, the global fans of Wonder Woman have been left hanging with this announcement. Right now, theatrical and streaming plans are solely for people living in the U.S., and if audiences in other countries have to wait, there is the looming fear of spoilers and pirated copies reaching them. Additionally, HBO Max doesn’t currently offer 4K.
Wonder Woman 1984 is currently the only major movie that will get a holiday theatrical slot this Christmas. The other big release is Pixar’s Soul, and it's going exclusively to Disney+ on December 25 alongside Diana Prince’s adventures in the ‘80s.
