The legendary Warner Bros picture house is to make Wonder Woman 1984 available on its HBO Max streaming service next year, almost immediately after it is released in cinemas, its owners Disney+ announced this week. Along with 17 other films scheduled for release in 2021 – including Matrix 4 and re-makes of Dune and Tom and Jerry – film buffs will be able to stream Wonder Woman 1984 just 24 hours after its opens on the silver screen.
The move signals a significant acceleration of the move to streaming that began to take pick up speed this summer as the film industry looked at ways of responding to the impact of COVID-19 on the entertainment sector. By 2024 Disney+ expects to be spending as much as $16bn year on streaming. To put that in perspective, Netflix’s streaming 2020 budget has been set at $17bn.